Award Shows March 28, 2022
Will Smith and Chris Rock Drama Might Not Be Over (Report)
Will Smith and Chris Rock haven’t patched things up after that Oscars slap, a source tells TMZ.
While Sean “Diddy” Combs told Page Six the men had settled their beef, the TMZ insider says they haven’t even spoken since the incident.
Will and Chris shared a heated exchange on the 2022 Oscars stage over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair — and to the shock of viewers and audience members, it turned physical when Will slapped Chris. The New York Post dubbed Smith “Best Smacktor” over the incident.
Now, the TMZ source says that Chris went straight to his dressing room, stunned by the slap, and left "shaken and bewildered.”
Chris had made a “G.I. Jane” joke about Jada’s shaved head, but the insider said Rock had no idea she suffers from alopecia, claiming he “doesn't have a mean bone in his body.”
Apparently, the comedian had always planned to leave right after presenting Best Documentary and he did just that.
Rock hit up Guy Oseary’s bash after the ceremony, while Smith danced the night away at the Vanity Fair party.
Page Six spoke with Diddy at the Vanity Fair party, where he said the dispute was “over,” adding, “I can confirm that,” the 52-year-old said, claiming the men had reconciled. “It’s all love. They’re brothers,” he said.
A source had previously told the paper that Will and Chris would work out their issues after the show. In fact, Combs had taken the Oscars stage himself shortly after the incident and told the audience, “Will and Chris we are going to solve that like family at the Gold party, but right now we are moving on with love.” As the camera panned to Will and Jada, they both laughed and smiled.
Smith certainly seemed over it at the Vanity Fair party, where he celebrated his Best Actor win for “King Richard.”
Variety reports Smith hit the dance floor with his entourage and his Academy Award as he danced to his ‘90s hits like “Gettin’ Jiggy wit It” and “Miami.”
It was hard to imagine that he had taken a swing at Chris just hours earlier, shouting expletives from his seat.
Chris was presenting Best Documentary when he poked fun at Jada, saying he was looking forward to “G.I. Jane 2.”
Tiffany Haddish Reacts to Will Smith Smacking Chris Rock
View StoryPinkett Smith immediately did not look pleased, and Will walked straight onstage and smacked Chris with his open hand.
As Smith walked back to his seat, a clearly shaken Rock said, “Oh, wow — Will Smith just smacked the s—t out of me.”
Rock insisted, “It was a ‘G.I. Jane’ joke,” and Will twice yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—king mouth.”
Rock told him, “I’m going to.”
Variety reports Rock has declined to press charges against Smith.
The LAPD told the magazine in a statement, "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
The Academy also released a statement, saying, "The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night's show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law."
Kyle Richards Reveals How Will Smith’s Ex-Wife Sheree Reacted to Chris Rock Oscar Slap
View StoryAs noted earlier, Jada has opened up about struggling with alopecia. She previously wrote on Instagram “Now at this point, I can only laugh. As y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia. Just all of a sudden, one day… it just showed up like that. Now, this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide. So, I thought I’d just share it so y’all not asking any questions … Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends… period.”
When Will won Best Actor later that evening, the emotional star addressed the dust-up.
Referring to the character he plays in "King Richard" — the father of Venus and Serena Williams — Smith said, "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world."
He continued, "I’m being called on in my life to love people and protect people and be a river to my people. I know to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse, you have to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you have to have people disrespecting you and you have to smile and pretend like that is okay."
Will said after the incident, "Denzel [Washington] said to me, 'At your highest moment, be careful — that is when the devil comes for you.'"
Smith later added, "Art imitates life and I look like the crazy father… just like they said about Richard. Love will make you do crazy things."
Will apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, ending with, "I hope the Academy invites me back." He did not apologize to Rock immediately.
The argument between Will and Chris may have turned more heated because when Chris hosted the 2016 Oscars, he made a cutting joke about Jada amid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy.
At the time, when many were protesting the show, Chris said onstage, “What happened this year? People went nuts. Spike [Lee] got mad. Jada went mad. Will went mad. Everyone went mad! Jada said she’s not coming. I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
He went on, “Her man Will was not nominated for ‘Concussion.’ I get it. You get mad. It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. You’re right. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for ‘Wild Wild West!’”