Revealed
SLAPPED BY SMITH
Will Smith and Chris Rock beef explained
CHRIS Rock's feud with Will Smith resulted in the infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.
The King Richard star confronted the Amsterdam actor when the former compared Jada Pinkett's shaven head to Demi Moore's appearance in G.I. Jane.
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Will Smith and Chris Rock beef explained
Chris and Jada
Previously, Jada Pinkett revealed Chris Rock tried to pursue a relationship with her even though she's married to Will Smith.
At the time, rumors were circulating that Jada and Will were divorcing.
"I think every summer all the reports would come out that me and Will were getting a divorce," the Matrix actress recalled to .
"And this particular summer, Chris, he thought that we were getting a divorce.
"So he called me and basically he was like, 'I’d love to take you out.'
"And I was like, 'What do you mean?' He was like, 'Well, aren’t you and Will getting a divorce?'
"I was like, 'No. Chris, those are just rumors.' He was appalled."
She added: "And he profusely apologized and that was that."
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Chris was married to Malaak Compton, with whom his divorce was finalized on August 22, 2016.
Following their split, Chris admitted to infidelity in their relationship.
"When guys cheat, it's like we want something new," Chris said during his 2018 Netflix special, Tamborine.
"Some of these lessons you've just got to learn. Like, I brought this sh*t on myself."
He continued: "Nobody told me to go ho up."
The first Madagascar film was released in 2005, with the third in the series hitting screens in 2012.
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The 2016 Oscars
Will and Chris first worked together in the 1990s on an episode of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The two seemingly maintained a friendly relationship throughout the years, as Chris stated in 2009 that he would not make "Will Smith jokes."
"(Obama's) just one of those guys, you know, like Will Smith," he said at the time.
"There's no Will Smith jokes. There's no Brad Pitt jokes," he added.
In 2016, Chris hosted that year's Oscars ceremony.
Before the event, Jada announced that she would not attend due to a lack of diversity.
During his monologue, Chris took to the stage and joked: "Jada said she's not coming, protest."
He continued: "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited!"
Chris brought Will into things, adding: "It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated.
"It's also not fair that Will was paid $20million for 'Wild Wild West,' OK?"
Jada's Response
"It comes with the territory," Jada said to the abovementioned outlet.
"We got to keep it moving; there's a lot of stuff we got to handle, a lot of stuff in our world right now. We got to keep it moving."
While promoting her book Worthy, she reflected on the incident and commented: "I talk about this in the book, I think that there might be some misunderstanding between Chris and I as far as the 2016 Oscars.
"I think that he might've taken offense, which I meant no harm in offending.
"That wasn't my intention but I do think that there's a big misunderstanding there.
"[Do I have] any desire to talk to Chris? Here's my desire...I just hope that all the misunderstandings around this can be cleared up and that there can be peace."
The 2022 Oscars
When Chris took the stage at the 2022 Oscars, he made another Jada-related joke.
"Jada, I love you, GI Jane 2; I can't wait to see it," he said, referencing the actress's shaved head.
Following his comment, the camera panned to Jada, who did not look pleased.
Will stood up from his seat and walked onto the stage, slapping Chris across the face.
The audio and video feed in the United States was cut for several seconds during the incident.
After the confrontation, Chris said to the crowd: "Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me."
In return, Will shouted, "Leave my wife's name out of your f**king mouth."
In 2018, Jada confessed she suffers from alopecia; a disease resulting in rapid hair loss.
Will's Apology
Following the ceremony, Chris Rock refused to press charges against Will Smith.
A statement from the Los Angeles police department said: "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program.
"The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report."
It continued: "If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."
Moments after the slap, Will was awarded the title of Best Actor for his role in King Richard.
During his acceptance speech, he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, saying: "...love will make you do crazy things."
Will added: "I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees, and everyone watching around the world.
"I would like to apologize to the Williams family and my King Richard family."
The following day, Will took to his Instagram to issue a formal apology.
"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive," he began.
"My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.
"Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally."
He continued: "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line, and I was wrong.
"I am embarrassed, and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.
"There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness."
On April 8, 2022, the Academy decided to ban Will Smith from all Academy and Oscar events for the next ten years.
Jada Pinkett Smith on Red Table Talk
Ahead of her Red Table Talk episode on June 1, 2022. Jada Pinkett Smith touched on the Oscar's slap.
The episode centered on the daily struggles of women suffering from alopecia.
While speaking of her struggles, the actress acknowledged the infamous slap by stating the following,
"Now about Oscar night, my deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile."
Jada Pinkett Smith confessed that she and Will Smith are figuring out their life.
Will Smith's Apology Video
On July 29, 2022, Will posted a that was over five minutes long to apologize to Chris Rock for his Oscar behavior.
In the video titled, "It's been a minute...," Will addressed some common questions people asked after the incident.
When asked why he didn't apologize to Chris during his acceptance speech, he said: "That point fogged out me. It's all fuzzy."
I've reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out," he added. "So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you."
Will reiterated that he was sorry for his actions and called his behavior "unacceptable."
"There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment," Smith says in the video. "There's no part of me that thinks that's the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults."
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"It's like, you know, I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris," Will continued.
"Jada had nothing to do with it. I'm sorry, babe. I wanna say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us."
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