As the infamous Oscars slap continues to be parsed through for details (and potential disciplinary action for Will Smith), a new camera angle has emerged that shows Jada Pinkett Smith‘s reaction after her husband slapped Chris Rock. The footage was filmed on a phone from just a few seats behind Jada, and the most notable moment comes in the first few seconds. As Rock announces that “Will Smith just slapped the sh*t out of me,” Jada appears to be seen (from the back view, so it’s tough to tell) laughing, just like most of the audience does before it became clear that the incident was not a scripted bit. When Will begins screaming, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth” twice, and Rock responds seriously with, “I’m going to, OK?” Jada makes no reaction and sits motionless as the gravity of the situation sets in.
Considering these people are all professional actors, there’s not a lot to infer from the moment, but it is an interesting perspective as we sift through the aftermath of The Slap.
You can see the Jada reaction video below:
In other new details, the Academy revealed on Wednesday night that, despite reports to the contrary, Will Smith was allegedly asked to leave the Oscars after assaulting Rock. However, the actor refused to leave, and there are conflicting reports on whether Smith was personally asked or the Academy merely suggested it to his publicist. According to TMZ, Smith’s reps got into a “heated conversation” with “plenty of ‘yelling’” at producers and Academy president David Rubin.