By now, you are well aware (even if you didn’t watch The Oscars) what happened at The Oscars. Will Smith smacked Chris Rock, onstage, after he made a G.I. Jane joke about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Then Chris carried on with the show, and Will pretty clearly referenced the moment while winning Best Actor (his weepy speech included, “Love will make you do crazy things”). By then, the show was in chaos mode with some viewers still wondering if the moment was real, but it certainly sounded real and, in the light of day, is being seen as such with the Academy denouncing violence in a pointed statement.
The fallout is enormous, with a little bit of that (initially) landing on the verified Will Smith Twitter account (not owned by Will Smith, the actor). A larger discussion about violence is now taking place, and (just for some context, not as anything close to an excuse), it’s worth looking at the history. This wasn’t the first time that Rock told jokes about Jada (and Will) at the Oscars. In 2016, Rock hosted the show and made light of Jada boycotting the Oscars (over a lack of diversity), which Rock likened to “me boycotting Rihanna’s panties–I wasn’t invited!” In the below clip, Rock also spoke to those who believed that Will should have been nominated (for Concussion), and Rock reacted with this: “It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West.”
It’s a clip worth noting for some historical context, for sure, yet it doesn’t erase the reality that Will Smith reacted to a joke in the way that he did. Yes, Jada has spoken openly about being afflicted with alopecia, and the GI Jane joke wasn’t fantastic (whether or not Rock was aware of the reason for Jada’s hairstyle), but yeah, boy, what a mess. The fallout will continue, and people sure are remembering the 2016 jokes.
I also just remembered than when Chris Rock hosted the #Oscars in 2016, he also took a dig at Jada, who led a charge to boycot that year’s ceremony over #OscarsSoWhite … maybe there’s more bad blood there than we knew.
Not an excuse. Just another factor https://t.co/knXso8yRhI pic.twitter.com/vRIRWlSsmK
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) March 28, 2022
Let’s not forget Chris Rock’s opening monologue from the 2016 Oscars where he shades Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. #Oscars pic.twitter.com/DkUPHXVDyE
— Chris Witherspoon (@WitherspoonC) March 28, 2022
historical context: the last time Chris Rock hosted the Oscars, in 2016, he said “Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties—I wasn’t invited!”
— rob sheffield (@robsheff) March 28, 2022
Chris Rock didn’t attack Jada, he cracked a bad joke….
Will had frustrations and embarrassment already, plus Chris Rock cracked on them in 2016….
Jada rolled her eyes and Will wanted to go “Thug Life” …
The End.
— Ebro (@oldmanebro) March 28, 2022
Lol holy shit that was awkward. Gotta respect it. Will smith standing up for his wife and Chris rock taking it on the chin and finishing the presentation. That said it was a joke and Chris is a comedian but this def goes back to 2016
— THE CHAINSMOKERS (@TheChainsmokers) March 28, 2022
I have to wonder if the Will/Jada/Chris beef has been stewing for a while.
From Chris Rock’s monologue in 2016 where he jokes about Jada boycotting the ceremony that year. pic.twitter.com/RWGROFu7zj
— Andrew Claudio (@AndrewJClaudio_) March 28, 2022
2016 Oscars hosted by Chris Rock. Not to justify last night’s actions but just wanted to provide some context around Will’s “pent up anger”. #WillSmith pic.twitter.com/RVZvGy8DsS
— Kutlwano (@UtloK) March 28, 2022
This Chris Rock vs Jada/Will Smith thing isn’t new, it all started in 2016 at The Oscars pic.twitter.com/qgDGMsruLB
— Peter (@Pete_Wanyoike) March 28, 2022
If you need something a little less tension-filled, remember how Timothée Chalamet tried to start the show off in a less controversial way? Man, what a night.