Was it the straw that broke the camel’s back? The violent slap that Will Smith gave Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony this Sunday, March 27, 2022 would be the result of an accumulation of jokes that the couple formed by the actor with Jada Pinkett-Smith undergoes from the comedian, one of the presenters of the Hollywood show.
Already in 2016, Chris Rock had chosen as target Jada Pinkett during his monologue of the Oscars surfing on the controversy “Oscars so White” – the lack of diversity of the ceremony. He stated thus: “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I was not invited!“ The comic then targeted the actor as well: “It wasn’t fair that Will wasn’t nominated this year. It’s true, you have to understand it. Corn Nor was it fair that Will Smith was paid $20 million for his role in Wild Wild West.” According to people magazine, those spikes stuck in Will Smith’s throat. Then, in 2018, on Twitter this time, Chris Rock was amused by the complicity between Will Smith and his ex Sheree Zampino: “wow. You have a very tolerant wife.“
Another actress, Regina Hall, also joked about the Smiths at the Oscars calling out Will on stage to form a sexy bachelorette skewer taking on his wife: “Your wife agrees, so you can follow me.“But obviously, the joke of this former partner of Jada Pinkett-Smith in Girls Trip has passed.
Chris Rock, who also collaborated with Mrs. Smith for the dubbing of the animated film Madagascar and its sequels, did not receive this preferential treatment. Perhaps because the comedian was attacking a health problem of the actress by making fun of her shaved head à la Demi Moore in On equal terms (G.I. Jane). Indeed, she is a victim of alopecia, a problem that she has publicly mentioned in the past. This joke would therefore have touched more deeply the mother of Will Smith’s last two children, Jaden – who did not fail to show her support – and Willow, whose annoyed look was obvious, and even more her husband who is came to blows.
When he returned to the stage, this time to collect his Oscar for best performance for The Williams Method, Will Smith issued a tearful apology to the Academy and the other nominees, but not to Chris Rock. He also referenced his character, the father of tennis players Serena and Venus Williams, considering himself a fierce protector of his family: “Reality sometimes exceeds fiction. I look like this crazy father, like what they said about him. But thelove makes you do crazy things.“The Oscar of the one who had been previously nominated for Ali and In search of happiness could be questioned because of his violent behavior, but for the time being, the Academy has not reacted.