Everyone was excited about the Oscars. People could not wait to see this year’s winners as astounding movies and life-changing performances were on the podium for this event. However, within the first hour or so, something else was able to catch the public’s attention and completely change the focus of the event.
On March 27, 2022, the Oscars’ audience witnessed something it had never seen before. The comedian Chris Rock came up to the stage to deliver his performance and hand out an award. Everything was going fine and everyone appeared to be having fun. While Chris Rock was delivering his speech, he made the mistake of making a joke about Will Smiths' wife. In case you’re not aware, Will Smiths' wife, Jada, has a disease called Alopecia Areata, which causes hair loss and is a topic Jada herself avoids. In this manner, Chris Rock jokes about her condition by saying: “Jada, I love you – I can’t wait for GI Jane 2.” GI Jane is, basically, a film in which the main actor has no hair. Even though Chris meant no harm, the joke was not well-received by Will Smith and Jada, as she seemed extremely uncomfortable with such a comment. Controversies have arisen from the incident, since many state that Will Smith was laughing along with Rock’s joke before glancing at his wife and realizing she was rolling her eyes, upset. He, then, got up from his seat, walked up to the stage, and slapped the living hell out of Chris Rock. The whole audience was shocked as Will Smith sat back down and demanded Chris Rock to “keep his wife’s name out of his mouth”.
Source- UOL
Posteriorly, Will Smith won, for the first time in his career, the Best Male Actor Award, which he received in between tears as he walked onto the stage. Due to Will Smith's amazing personality, he apologized to Chris Rock and the Academy for his actions and, for that, received a standing ovation. After this, he returned to his seat and, if you thought things were bad, they got worse. The Academy of the Oscars asked Will Smith to leave the building, a request that was denied. Obviously, whenever a celebrity commits a mistake, he will get hate. In this case, Will Smiths' action created some hate towards him as other actors (like Dwane Johnson) took a stance and claimed that Smith acted irresponsibly, even though Chris Rock also crossed the line.
Source - FGN News
Let's say you are in the place of Will Smith, and someone insults your family, would you react to it? Would you let it slide? Do you think Will Smith should have acted differently? Did he go too far? Whatever differing positions there are, it is not up to the public, but rather to the Academy, to decide what happens next.
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