The major talking point of the 94th Academy Awards wasn’t the winners, the losers, or the fashion but an on-stage incident between Chris Rock and Will Smith. Several of Hollywood’s biggest stars shared their thoughts and opinions on what happened.
Star Wars actor Mark Hamill pointed out that although comedians might be used to dealing with hecklers, “violent physical assault” was something new. Comedian Kathy Griffin hoped that Smith’s actions wouldn’t lead to further physical assaults and Rob Reiner thought that Smith was lucky to escape charges. Actor Sophia Bush took a more balanced view by both condemning Smith’s actions but adding some background to why Rock’s joke prompted such a response. Judd Apatow also added his words of condemnation in a now-deleted series of tweets.
Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian.
Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 28, 2022
Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bullshit.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) March 28, 2022
Violence isn’t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather.
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) March 28, 2022
During the live Oscars broadcast, Rock made jokes about several stars in attendance, including Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem. However, his comments directed at Jada-Pinkett Smith regarding her alopecia caused her husband Will to stride on stage. Will landed an open-hand slap on Rock, before returning to his seat and shouting for Rock to “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth.” The Los Angeles Police Department has confirmed that Rock does not plan to press charges.
Jada Pinkett Smith has been very open about her battles with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that results in hair loss. There is no known cure for the condition, although some treatments can promote hair regrowth or slow down the process. Smith first revealed she suffered from the condition in 2018 and has spoken at length about how terrifying losing her hair has been.
After the incident, the ceremony continued as normal and Smith remained in the audience at the Dolby Theater. He was nominated for Best Actor for his role in King Richard, where he played Richard Williams, the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena. The movie is based on the true story of the sister’s childhood and the ambitions of their father to make them tennis champions.
Smith won the award for Best Actor and dedicated part of his tearful acceptance speech to apologizing for his earlier actions. “I want to apologize to The Academy; I want to apologize to all of my fellow nominees. I hope the Academy invites me back,” Smith said.
Source: Twitter
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