American actor Will Smith slapped well-known comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars due to a joke the comedian made about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett.`
Chris Rock was asked to present an award for the best Documentary and in his true like fashion, had to make a few jokes. He first made a quip about actor Denzel Washington and then turned his attention to Smith’s wife Jada saying he looked forward to seeing her in G.I Jane II.
Why did Will Smith slap Chris Rock?
The reason for the joke was because she was sporting a buzzcut that was very similar to actor Demi Moore’s character in the 1997 film G.I Jane.
Pinkett had in the past spoken about her struggles with hair loss and bald spots caused by alopecia. Alopecia commonly known as, Alopecia areata, is an autoimmune disorder that causes your hair to come out, often in clumps the size and shape of a coin.
Pinkett posted in December that she would have to cut of her hair down to the scalp to avoid anyone assuming she had had brain surgery or something related to it.
“Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something,” she then added, “Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
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Jada rolled her eyes after Rock’s insensitive joke and then Smith walked to the stage and slapped Rock. Smith later in the evening won his first Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams in film King Richard.
Rock has in the past made several jokes about the couple and also during this night the two had several other celebrities throw jibes about them about their relationship.
The Los Angeles police department issued a statement following the Oscars alluding to the incident, saying that the person who was slapped declined to press charges.”
Many people shed a different light on the matter speaking about abuse and the tolerance for it. Here are a few comments: