Comedian Chris Rock got slapped by Will Smith on live TV during the Oscars, and it was the main talking point of the entire Oscar ceremony. While some netizens suggested it was staged, most are convinced it was for real.
The incident has divided the online community, with some people standing by Will Smith while most are supporting Chris Rock and criticizing Smith for his actions. While everyone was trying to choose a side, we decided to take a dive into the history and find out the reason that led to the ‘slap of the year’. What made cool-headed Will Smith so angry that he hit a colleague out of rage?
As we know, this was not the first time Chris Rock made a joke at the expense of the Smiths. Let’s have a look at the timeline of jokes made by Chris Rock on Will Smith and his wife.
Chris Rock mocked Jada in the 2016 Oscars opening monologue
In 2016, Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s wife, decided to boycott the Oscars ceremony for the lack of diversity. Chris Rock, who was the host of the ceremony that year, declared that she was not even invited to the show in the first place. He said, “Jada went mad, Jada says she’s not coming. Protesting.” Then he quipped, “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!”
Chris Rock also joked about Will Smith not getting nominated for Concussion. He said, “Jada’s mad her man Will was not nominated for Concussion. I get it. It is also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West.” Wild Wild West was one of the biggest flops in Hollywood history.
At that time, Jada Smith ignored the comments. Speaking to X17, she said, “Hey, look, it comes with the territory, but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving.”
‘You have an understanding wife’ how Chris poked Will Smith in 2018
Later in 2018, Will Smith posted a photograph of his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, on her birthday. It was all okay until Rock decided to chip in and make fun of Smith posting about his ex-wife. He said, “Wow. You have an understanding wife.” Though Smith did not reply to his comment, Zampino had suggested Rock not ‘hate’ in the comments.
Chris Rock’s comments on Jada’s health condition
In 2018, Jada had revealed she was suffering from a health condition called alopecia. During a Facebook Live, she opened up about the reason behind wearing a turban. She said, “I’ve been getting a lot of questions about why I’ve been wearing this turban. Well, I’ve been having issues with hair loss. And it was terrifying when it first started.” Later, in December 2021, in an Instagram video, she revealed bald lines on her head.
She wrote, “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp, so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. I and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
