A year after the controversy, Chris Rock explodes against Will Smith, highlighted People En Español. The famous comedian assures that behind the slap was Smith’s upset over Jada Pinkett Smith’s infidelity.
“You never know who you can provoke. Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face. You already know what happened. That bastard slapped me at the Oscars and people ask me, ‘did it hurt?’ It still hurts,” Rock said on the stand-up “Selective Outrage,” NBC reported.
As will be remembered almost a year ago, Chris Rock made a joke about actress Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, which her partner Will Smith did not like, who without thinking, got on stage and slapped him in the middle of the transmission. It happened shortly before receiving the Oscar for Best Actor for “King Richard.”
“I took that punch like Pacquiao”
Throughout 2022, Rock made reference to what happened. “But I’m not a victim, baby. You will never see me crying with Oprah Winfrey or Gayle King. Never Gonna happen. I took that hit like Pacquiao,” he said.
Everyone in Hollywood would have been talking about it for months, but Rock maintains that it was his turn to pay.
“Normally I wouldn’t talk about such things, but for some reason they put it on the Internet. I have no idea why they would,” she recalled.
A day after the incident, Smith apologized while being banned from upcoming Hollywood Academy ceremonies.
“Jada Pinkett did more damage to him than to me. And who does it hit? Me, who he knows he can beat. Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everyone knows that I had nothing to do with it. I didn’t have any entanglements,” he added.
The actor assured that he has “supported Will Smith all his life”, apparently regretting what happened to their relationship. “I loved Will Smith. All my life I’ve loved…he made great movies. And now I watch ‘To Freedom’ just to see him get beat up.’” And he concludes. “A lot of people say, ‘Chris, why didn’t you do anything?’ Because I have parents. Do you know what they taught me? Don’t fight in front of the whites, ”he reflected concluding the show.
Rehabilitation and a trip to India
What could have been the best day of her life turned into a nightmare that she will carry with her forever. Will Smith got carried away by emotions and made a mistake.
It was learned that after the incident the famous actor was devastated. So much so, that he needed therapy and voluntarily went to a rehabilitation clinic, as published by The Sun newspaper last April 2022.
After the therapy, the interpreter for spiritual reasons and to change his behavior allowed himself to be photographed in India. It was learned that his wife accompanied him on the spiritual journey. In the images that circulated, he was seen smiling and animated, attending to his fans. Local media such as the Hindustan Times claimed that Smith traveled to India to meet Sadhguru, a spiritual leader the actor already knew.
By then, projects in which Will Smith was involved began to be suspended or postponed, such as the sequel to “Bright” that Netflix was preparing with him, or “Bad Boys 4” and the fourth “2 Rebel Cops” movie that the actor was counting on.
Will Smith travels to India following Oscars slap controversy https://t.co/kFQESoiLf1 pic.twitter.com/Lmg58FTWEd
— Page Six (@PageSix) April 23, 2022
“Emancipation”
After the slap that the whole world saw, Will reappeared eight months later at the premiere of his new movie “Emancipation”.
“It was a rage that I had contained for a long time. This does not justify my behavior at all. I am sorry for everything that happened because he is not the kind of man I want to be, ”said the actor of “Looking for happiness to the British outlet ‘The Daily’, reported Marca on its website.
“My great hope is that my actions do not penalize the team. I hope this story can reach people’s hearts so that they recognize the great talent of the artists in this film,” added the actor.
Rejected offer
Chris Rock, for his part, said that he refused to host the Oscars for next year 2023, according to the Arizona Republic.
The comedian dismissed the offer, joking that returning to Hollywood’s biggest night would be like returning to the scene of the crime.
Rock has hosted the show twice, in 2005 and 2016, the latter amid another so-called “OscarsSoWhite” controversy.
Chris Rock, since then, gained more fame. He continued with the humorous introductions of him and from time to time reminisced about the unfortunate episode.
