The Oscars usually have a few viral moments, but this year’s was on a whole other level. It’s been months, but audiences are still horrified to see Will Smith storm the stage and clap Chris Rock after he joked about Jada Pinkett Smith. As the discourse continues, Rock’s brother has confronted Tupac and Jada about their motives the infamous Oscar slam.
The Slap happened late on Oscars Night, when Chris Rock presented the Best Documentary category. He cracked some jokes at the celebs in the front row, and made a jab at Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair, apparently oblivious to her public battle with alopecia. Will Smith would slap Rock in the face on live TV in response, before returning to his seat and continuing to scream at the comic. Since then, countless people have weighed in on the viral moment, including comedian Tony Rock, who is also the brother of Chris Rock. He recently appeared on the podcast Top Billin’ with Bill Bellamy, where he pondered Smith’s reactions throughout the night. As he put it,
He laughed at first. So it’s not embarrassing. He laughed. By the time they cut to my brother and cut down, he was already up walking. So maybe it was the Jada look. I think it was the accumulation of him being beaten at other levels. He said it himself, he always hated the “soft” moniker. He’s soft, Sure don’t let 2Pac die, there’s always something about 2Pac. And his daughter [Willow Smith] brought up 2Pac. And I don’t bring up family stuff that people don’t know… these are things that everybody knows. [Jada] often talks about Tupac, her relationship with 2Pac. As a married man with this woman, you think, ‘Damn, isn’t what I’m doing enough?’
Well, there you have it. It’s just one person’s reaction, but it’s clear that Tony Rock has really thought out Will Smith’s possible motivations for the bang. The moment of violence was apparently out of character for the beloved actor, which would win an Oscar for Best Actor right afterwards. As such, Rock seems to think it goes deeper than his brother’s one joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
Sure Pinkett Smith had known a relationship with Tupac Shakur before his infamous death back in 1996. They met while attending the Baltimore School for the Arts and collaborated on music videos. Also, she even contributed to his bail at one point. Their relationship was portrayed on screen in the biopic Everyone’s eyes on mewith actress Kat Graham playing Jada Pinkett.
Tony Rock makes this connection, claiming that Will Smith’s bangs may have deeper issues going back years. He cited Tupac, as well as Smith’s past reputation as someone who is “soft” rather than hardened by the streets. Rock also examines how Smith went from laughing to violence so quickly, which is definitely an aspect of the drama that people have been mystified by. It’s clear that the discourse surrounding the Oscar slam isn’t slowing down anytime soon.
It remains to be seen how Will Smith’s professional career will recover from this viral incident, as will a number of his projects was paused in response. In the meantime, check it out 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
