Everyone at the Dolby Theater was in for a shock when Hollywood star Will Smith walked up to the stage and slapped comic artiste Chris Rock over his humorous remark on Will's wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The incident took place when Chris was on the stage to present the Oscars for Best Documentary category. Chris started his gig with a few jokes about the audience members, including Pinkett Smith, referring to her as "G.I. Jane" due to her closely cropped hair, Pinkett Smith has spoken in the past about her battle with alopecia. Moments after the joke, Smith walked to the stage and smacked Rock across the face. The uncensored footage of the show had Rock saying, "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me," as Smith was on his way to his chair. "Wow, dude. It was a G.I. Jane joke." Will got back to his seat and shouted at Rock saying, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth".
Now, In a conversation with Philadelphia’s local ABC affiliate Action News, talking about the incident, Will's mother Carolyn Smith said, "He is a very even, people person. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. First time in his lifetime. I've never seen him do that.”
Will also won the Oscars 2022 award for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. Reacting to that, Carolyn said how proud she was of her son finally winning his first Academy Award. She said, “I know how he works, how hard he works. I’ve been waiting and waiting and waiting. When I heard the name, I was just, ‘Yes!'”
On Monday, Will publicly apologized to Chris on social media. His apology note read, "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness."
(Source: Action News)
