Yesterday, during the presentation of the Oscars, actor Will Smith (53) dealt a striking blow to presenter Chris Rock (57). That happened after Rock joked about the “GI Jane haircut” of Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will’s wife. Do you have to be able to laugh at everything? Or is Smith’s outburst somewhat understandable? What is your opinion? Tonight we bundle the most fascinating reactions in a new piece. Read below what experts and colleagues of Will Smith think of it.
The Academy, the organization that awards the Oscars: “The Academy does not allow violence in any form.”
Film director and actor Sven De Ridder: “To me, Will Smith is suddenly someone who has no humor, while he himself claims that he is always the man with the humor. If he reacts like that at times like that, it will be a long time before I see him again as the actor he is.”
Film director Jan Verheyen: “It remains to be seen what the consequences will be for Will Smith’s career. You cannot call this event a highlight.”
‘One Tree Hill’ actress Sophia Bush: “Violence is not okay. It is also never the solution. This was the second time Chris made a joke about Jada at the Oscars. Laughing at someone else’s autoimmune disease wrong. Making a conscious joke about it is just cruel. Both Chris Rock and Will Smith need to calm down.”
American actor and director Rob Reiner: “There is no excuse whatsoever for what Will Smith has done. Will Smith should apologize to Chris Rock. He should be happy that Rock is not filing a complaint.”
Euphoria actor Coleman Domingo: “He’s from West Philadelphia, just like me, and we are very passionate people. His passion took over for a moment, I thought at the time. In his thank you speech moments later, he was aware of his own shortcoming in apologizing to everyone.”
Actress Tiffany Haddish: “When I saw a black man defend his wife… It really meant a lot to me. The rest of the world may not agree, but for me personally this was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. It made me believe that there are still men who love their wives.” Haddish also wondered aloud why Rock made the joke in question. “He didn’t ask beforehand if she was okay with it and his comment clearly touched her. If she didn’t mind, Will probably wouldn’t have said anything. It just protected his wife.”
Will Smith after his outburst:
Will Smith later won the Best Actor award for his role in King Richard. A film about the life of the father of Venus and Serena Williams. Tears rolled down his cheeks during his acceptance speech and he apologized to the Academy, but not Rock. “Richard Williams defended his family fiercely. I know that if you do what we do, you have to deal with criticism and mean jokes, with people who have no respect for you and your family. I want to apologize to the Academy and all my fellow nominees. I hope the Academy will invite me in the future.”
Read more about the incident here.
Also watch the reaction of tennis star Serena Williams:
And now it’s up to you. What is your opinion? Let us know in the comments below this article. We are bundling the most fascinating reactions in a new piece tonight.
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