(NOTE LANGUAGE) By now, we all have either heard of or witnessed Sunday night’s very intense Oscar moment of Will Smith walking on stage and slapping Chris Rock in the face, after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett’s shaved head.
The very uncomfortable and extremely awkward moment came while Rock presented the award for Best Documentary. Addressing Pinkett, the comedian joked, “Jada I love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
The exchange brought attention from not only the Academy, of course, but also the LAPD as well as stars and fellow comedians expressed mixed emotions about Smith’s actions.
“There’s no excuse for that, Will Smith,” said Stephen A. Smith on Twitter. After congratulating Smith for winning Best Actor for King Richard, the sports journalist posted a video condemning him. “I love the brother and I’m proud of him, but boy was that a shameful act…” Stephen Smith said.
Likewise, journalist Maria Shriver condemned Smith saying, “#WillSmith says he wants to be a vessel for love. Love is not violent.”
Comedian George Wallace tweeted, “Will Smith is lucky his momma wasn’t there tonight. She would’ve kicked his a** for acting like that.”
“Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian,” Kathy Griffin said in her Twitter post. “Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
“The West Philly came out Will Smith tonight,” said comedian Michael Blackson. “Congrats on finally winning…but you should have handled the Chris Rock situation a little better like behind closed doors…”
On the other hand, some stars say they understood why Smith reacted the way he did. In support of his father (and mother) Jaden Smith posted a simple, “And That’s How We Do It.”
In a now-deleted tweet, Rep. Ayanna Pressley who, like Pinkett, suffers from the hair loss disease alopecia, thanked Smith. “Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives living with alopecia in the face of daily ignorance and insults.”
“I feel you will smack the s*** out one you n***** bout my wife on national tv,” said Cardi B’s husband, rapper Offset.
P. Diddy witnessed the shocking moment in person and posted to his Instagram story saying, “S*** happens sometime…We’re gonna move on with Love.”
According to a report by Page Six, Diddy confirmed Smith and Rock reconciled after the incident. “That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that…It’s all love. They’re brothers,” he said.
There has been talk about whether or not Smith will get to keep his first-ever Oscar. Writer/Director Marshall Herskovitz called upon the Academy to “take disciplinary actions.”
In response to the incident the organization said, “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.”
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