How Hollywood Reacted to Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars Slap

News By TooFab Staff | 3/30/2022 7:31 AM PT

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It was the slap seen 'round the world, as Will Smith -- triggered by Chris Rock's "joke" about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair -- smacked the comedian on stage during the show. The incident blew up on social media and even celebrities were pretty vocal about the shocking moment. Here's what they all had to say ...

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In an October 2022 interview with C Magazine, Mila Kunis stood by her decision to remain seated at the Oscars after Smith won Best Actor shortly after the slap. "The idea of leading by example only makes sense when you actually have someone to lead. We have our tiny little tribe here at home, and never once do I want to tell them to do something if I'm not willing to do it myself," she explained. "Not standing up to me was a no-brainer, but what was shocking to me was how many people did stand up. I thought, wow, what a time we're living in that rather than do what’s right, people focus on doing what looks good. It’s insane to me."

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Appearing on Back on the Record with Bob Costas, former Oscar host Billy Crystal called the slap an "assault." He added, "It was a most disturbing incident for sure. I've hosted the Grammy's 3 times, and I've been thrown things. In [Oscars] pre-production, the amazing Gill Cates, we would go through -- he was the producer for six of the nine that I did -- we would go through the rundown and I'd say, 'Maybe I should be there because something might happen there. If that person wins, I should follow that."

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"The moment I realized the nature of what had just occurred on the stage at the Dolby Theatre, I was confronted by the same rising anxiety all Black people feel when the face that flashes up on the news after a crime is reported, is a Black one," said David Oyelowo in an op-ed for THR. "You find yourself thinking, 'What does this mean for us?' 'What does that mean for me?' In the wake of George Floyd's murder, the entertainment industry made a lot of pledges to increase the diversity of our business. Some intentional. Some ceremonial. My fear is that this unfortunate incident, which has us all processing, will have a negative effect on the ongoing push for inclusion."

Read the Full Op-Ed Here

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Courtney B. Vance recently appeared on The Breakfast Club, where he shared an aggressive encounter he and wife Angela Bassett had at an airport baggage claim, comparing it to what happened at the Oscars. "[The fan] wanted an autograph. I said, 'It's not appropriate right now. Please give us our [privacy]. If you recognize us, then [others] will, and it'll be on,' " said Vance. The fan proceeded to then curse at Angela, attempting "to provoke her" and "get a reaction out of her." The actor continued "Angie, just keep walking, baby. Just keep walking. We're going to our car. Just keep walking," de-escalating the situation. "You have to understand the situation and be able to sometimes know [when] it's time to step up and say, 'Don't you dare,' and sometimes you just gotta just walk away," Vance then joked, "What we don't wanna see is Angela Bassett pimp-slapping [anybody]." He went on to add, "You ain't getting [a reaction]. We're not going down like that."

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Michael Bay says "it was a slap. Not a punch," when asked about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Per Yahoo! Entertainment, the director goes on to say, "Hollywood gets very self-absorbed. There are babies getting blown up in the Ukraine right now. We should be talking about that. I really don’t care. I’ve worked with him. He’s not that guy. I’ve never seen him lose his cool like that. I thought it was a setup because I saw his smirk.” Bay continued “It was a slap. Not a punch. He’s very good at fighting, he’s trained at that. It’s wrong to begin with. Then I knew the yell… he was mad.”

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Denzel Washington shared some details on what happened after Will Smith's slap at the Oscars. "Well, there's a saying when the devil ignores you, then you know you're doing something wrong," Denzel said at Bishop T.D. Jakes' leadership summit. "You know, the devil goes, 'Oh, no, leave him alone, he's my favorite. Don't bother him.' Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe it's because you're trying to do something right. And for whatever reason, the devil got a hold of that circumstance that night." He added, "Fortunately, there were people there, not just me, but others in the gap. Tyler Perry came right, immediately, right over there with me." He continued by saying there were "some prayers. Keep it. I don't want to say what we talked about. There but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn?" Washington also explained that, "I don’t know all the ins and outs of the situation. I know the only solution was prayer. The way I saw it."

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Chelsea Handler is coming to Chris Rock's defense, per PEOPLE, Handler stated at the 2022 Grammy's how the comedian "handled himself with such aplomb" after the infamous slap took place. Handler goes on to say "He was a professional and that was a great example for all performers, all comedians, to not be reactive in the moment, it wasn't necessary to be reactive. I think the reaction is heard now and it's appropriate, and people have really felt for him."

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Former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Tatyana Ali took to Twitter to comment on Will Smith's actions, writing: "I love #WillSmith very much. @chrisrock didn’t deserve to be hit. Period. My heart aches for what has happened. I don’t know what caused that chaos & confusion, but I do know that Will has a big heart. I’ve seen him many times try his best to do what is right. I believe in him."

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On his late night show the Wednesday after the Oscars, Jimmy Kimmel revealed what he thinks Smith's punishment should be for disrupting the awards. Saying they shouldn't take his Oscar away, Kimmel said, "If the Academy wants to punish Will Smith, I have the idea, they should make him host the red carpet interviews for E! next year. Let him stand outside asking Olivia Colman who designed her purse for 4 hours. Or maybe for 10 years, he's not allowed to star in anything good. The Academy sentences you to one decade of Hallmark Christmas movies."

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Daniel Radcliffe, for one, doesn't want to add to the discourse. When asked about the incident on Good Morning Britain, he said, "I saw it, I'm just so already dramatically bored of hearing people's opinions about it that I just don’t want to be another opinion adding to it."

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At his first standup show in Boston following the Oscars, Chris Rock received a standing ovation from the audience. "How was your weekend?" he asked, sarcastically, before telling the crowd, "I don't have a bunch of s--- about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I'm still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I'll talk about that s---. And it will be serious and funny."

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George Lopez, noting he's a member of the Academy, told PEOPLE that speaking out on the incident is "like deciding which parent you want to live with" -- adding he's "staying with my dad and Chris Rock."

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Speaking with Ellen, cohost Wanda Sykes said she "just felt awful for my friend, Chris." She added, "It was sickening. It was absolutely sickening … I physically felt ill and I’m still a little traumatized by it. And for them to let him stay in that room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award, I was like, how gross is this? This is just the wrong message. You assault somebody, you get escorted out the building and that's it. For them to let him continue, I thought it was gross." She said Smith hasn't yet apologized to her, but Rock did at an after-party. "The first thing he said was, 'I am so sorry … it was supposed to be your night. You, Amy and Regina were doing such a great job, I'm so sorry this is now gonna be about this.' That's who Chris is"

Watch Her Ellen Interview Here

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Speaking with Oscars cohost Wanda Sykes, Ellen DeGeneres expressed disappointment in the incident. "It's a big deal, a bucket list, when you get to host the Oscars and for something to happen like what happened with Will and Chris, it takes away from so many things," she said. "It took away from Questlove's win on the documentary, it took away from the Williams family." She agreed with Sykes that still awarding Smith the Best Actor trophy was "not an example to set," adding, "You don't let someone do something like that, get away with it and be rewarded."

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Zoe Kravitz -- who appeared opposite Will Smith in 2013's "After Earth" -- made her disappointment with the situation pretty clear while sharing photos of her from Oscar night to IG. "here's a picture of my dress at the show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now," she captioned one. "and here is a picture of my dress at the party after the award show -- where we are apparently screaming profanities and assaulting people on stage now," she added in the other. In the comments, she was asked, "You don't support him defending his wife?" Her response: Nope." Her comments were met with major backlash on Twitter, where she started trending almost instanly.

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Amy Schumer shared an in-depth reaction to the moment early Wednesday, March 30. On Instagram she wrote, "I think we can all agree that the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series @lifeandbethhulu and see me on tour this fall. But for real. Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing." "So much pain in @willsmith," she concluded. "Anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. Im proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed."

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Will's family seemed unfazed by the incident when they celebrated his win at the Vanity Fair Oscar party. "And That’s How We Do It. My Dad's Speech Made Me Cry," tweeted Jaden after the win. Jada simply posted, "This is a season for healing and I'm here for it" on Tuesday, while Willow shared a meme reading, "You know who's going through a lot right now Literally everyone. Just be kind."

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Jim Carrey also expressed his outrage over the incident during an appearance on CBS Good Morning on Tuesday. "I'd have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million, because that video's gonna be there forever. It's gonna be ubiquitous. That insult is gonna last a very long time," he said, before pointing to the reaction from the audience to Will's Best Actor win. "I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation," he added. "I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. And it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore."

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Ron Howard also spoke to Deadline about it, saying he's "Very friendly" with both parties involved. "I was shocked. I wouldn't have expected this kind of behavior," he said. "I'm not on the Academy board and I can't speak for their process but I do know them and they will be very, very thoughtful. I will be curious to see what sort of decisions they make."

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Thomas Haden Church was even more outspoken with his reaction, saying he thinks "Will Smith should be banned from the Oscars for the rest of his life." Church, who is an Oscar nominee himself for his work in "Sideways," added, "I think he should have his Academy membership stripped, but I don't think he should have the Oscar taken from him."

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Tiffany Haddish described the moment as "beautiful." "When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me," the actress, who was front and center at Sunday's ceremony, told People. "As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, 'Keep my wife's name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,' that's what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you." "And that meant the world to me," she added. Haddish added, “He protected his wife. To me, I went up to her and said, 'You better s--k his d--k from the back, girl!' You better put that in your magazine! That's what I told her."

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Jimmy Kimmel also joked about it at the top of his show. "Even Kanye was like, 'You went on stage and did what at an awards show?'" he began, before praising Rock for handling "it about as well as you could possibly handle being slapped on stage at the Oscars. He didn't even flinch when Will slapped him." He added, "I would have been crying so hard ... [Rock] went right into introducing best documentary as if he hadn't just been slapped by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."

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James Corden created a parody of Encanto's We Don't Talk About Bruno called We Don't Talk About Jada. On his show, he also praised Rock's "incredibly dignified response" to the slap. He added, "I'll say this: Will Smith can't take a joke. Chris Rock can take a punch. A steel jaw. Unbelievable."

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On the Late Show, Stephen Colbert said Rock was "slapped into next week." He then called the slap "the worst thing Will Smith has ever done" -- before joking that honor actually belongs to Gemini Man. He added: "It's never okay to punch a comedian. Will Smith was offended by the joke and wanted to stand up for his wife -- fine. Challenge Chris to a duel or -- if you really want to hurt a comedian -- don't laugh. That hurts way more than a punch, I promise you."

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On The Tonight Show, Jimmy Fallon kicked off his monologue joking, "Remember a few years ago when the Oscars literally announced the wrong winner for best picture? Turns out that was child's play. Everyone in the audience looked shocked, and for once it wasn't from the Botox. Seriously, you know it was a strange award show when it ends with a statement from the LAPD. In just a split second the Oscars went from Oscar de la Renta to Oscar De La Hoya."

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On Late Night, Amber Ruffin sarcastically said, "I had hoped that it was a bit, but that quickly turned to dust. A dark sadness filled my home, a darkness I couldn't escape. Had the Oscars lost its magic? We tried to stay engaged, but there was no more show after that. The once-fluffy couch I was sitting on suddenly felt hard and unwelcoming. My heated blanket went cool. The sweet tea I was enjoying lost all its flavor. The Oscars took everything I thought I knew and flushed it down the toilet. In this new world, could I survive?"

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Nicki Minaj tweeted, "I love Chris Rock. I don't think he would've made that joke had he known what Jada recently shared- but between him & the whole team @ the #Oscars you mean to tell me not ONE of y'all heard this woman just share this heartbreaking story? #ComeOnSon." She added, "You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a 'little joke' at her expense. This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. while y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain."

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Speaking at an Oscars after-party, Liam Payne said that while there were "three losers in that fight", there was beauty to be taken from the moment. "I believe whatever he felt that he did, he had the right to do," he said, "I had to leave my chair I'll be honest with you, it cut me really deep."

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Judd Apatow had one of the strongest reactions against Smith — before deleting all of his tweets. He advised Schumer not to go to the Vanity Fair afterparty because "Will wants to talk to you about the monologue", he then advised Rock to "take him for all his King Richard, I mean, Hitch money." "He could have killed him," he replied to one commenter defending Smith. "That's pure out of control rage and violence. They've heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind."

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Kathy Griffin meanwhile made the point that Smith may have set a dangerous precedent. She tweeted: "Let me tell you something, it's a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters."

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Mandy Moore was another who was not impressed, re-sharing some damning takes on her Instagram stories: "Violence is never 'proof of love'. That's a deadly idea that has fueled and excused domestic (and all) violence for far too long. Think hard about that take, please," was one opinion Moore agreed with. 'Love will make you do some crazy things' is true toxic bullshit and I hope no children watching this learn a thing from him," read another.

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Rosie O'Donnell applauded Chris Rock's handling of the incident — and slammed the Academy for its do nothing approach. She wrote, "so upsetting - on every level - bravo to Chris Rock - for not eviscerating will smith - which he could do any day of the week - he walked away - bravo from a sad display of toxic masculinity from a narcissistic madman #Oscars2022 #chrisROCK"

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Mark Hamill also felt for Rock, hastagging it #UgliestOscarMoment_Ever. He added, "Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers. Violent physical assault... not so much."

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On his show Monday Morning, Howard Stern was also equally critical of Smith, and the Academy for its inaction. "What you saw on TV was a guy with real issues," he told listeners, per The Hollywood Reporter. "That's crazy, that's crazy when you can't contain yourself." "You don't provide security?" he asked. "You don't have someone come up there? Chris Rock was just trying to make people laugh at the f--king ceremony, which was so long and boring."

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Comic Nikki Glaser also called into Stern’s show, and mirrored Kathy Griffin's worries about future attacks in comedy clubs. "People say, 'How did Weinstein get away with that for so long? How did that happen?' and it's like, we just witnessed it! Everyone saw an assault take place. Everyone in the room with their own eyes. And then if you would have tuned in 20 minutes later, you would have never known that happened."

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Mia Farrow said anyone who was okay with it "has probably never been hit by a powerful man." She wrote, "It was just a joke. Jokes are what Chris Rock does. Always has been edgy. This was a mild joke for him. And i love GI Jane." She added, "What i saw was one of Hollywood’s most powerful movie stars,stalk onto a stage to strike a comedian for an unfortunate joke about his (gorgeous) wife’s shaved head. Anyone who is ok with that has probably never been hit by a powerful man. As we advise our kids, 'use your words.'"

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Nina Dobrev reacted as someone whose family member also suffers from alopecia. "I like Chris, a lot. I didn't like the joke. At all. I hope he's okay. I like Will, a lot. I didn't like his behavior. I don't condone his violence. At all. I hope he's okay." She added, "I like Jada a lot, hearing a joke at the expense of something you can't control doesn't feel good. People poking fun at your disease is not okay. At all. I hope she's okay."

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Chris Rock's brother Tony responded to a few followers on Twitter. When asked whether he approved of Smith’s apology, Tony responded, "No." He was also asked how his brother was doing, responding, "All of them are fine" — and called the whole situation "foul."

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Richard Williams, who Smith won an Oscar portraying in King Richard, shared a statement with NBC News. "We don't know all the details of what happened," Williams said through his son and spokesperson Chaviota LeSane. "But we don't condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it's in self-defense."

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Will Smith's own mother was interviewed by ABC Philadelphia about the incident, saying she was shocked by what unfolded. "He is a very even, people person," she stated. "That's the first time I've ever seen him go off. First time in his lifetime… I've never seen him do that." She added, "I am proud of him being him."

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Alec Baldwin tweeted, "I am not reading much about how, or even if, the producers attended to Chris … But I love you, @chrisrock. And I'm sorry the Oscars turned into the Jerry Springer show."

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Maria Shriver was skeptical about Smith's "vessel of love" speech afterward. She tweeted, "#WillSmith says he wants to be a vessel for love. Love is not violent. Love is not what was displayed on a global stage tonight. #Oscars." Shriver added, "We should never get to a place where we sit and watch a movie star hit someone on global television then, moments later, get a standing ovation while talking about love. #WillSmith #Oscars"

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"It's not ok to come up on stage and hit a dude cause you don't like the humor," tweeted Tim Allen. "It's not ok at a Comedy Club, concert hall or hosting some cheeseball award show. Chris Rock is a stand up comedian and a standup guy who carried on. I think I would have run."

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Sophia Bush condemned both sides, tweeting, "Violence isn't ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather … Hitting him was not okay. AND his 'joke' was cruel & personal. All of it, awful."

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David Spade defended Chris Rock’s joke about Jada's alopecia, saying "comedians don't have a medical chart for everyone in the audience."

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Janet Hubert, who portrayed Aunt Viv on the original Fresh Prince, had Will’s back. "There is only so much one can take… sometimes you have to slap back," she tweeted. "Celebrate the win… nothing else matters. Both actions were incorrect but Chris didn’t need to go there."

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How Hollywood Reacted to Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars Slap

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