Did Jada Pinkett Smith tell Will Smith to slap Chris Rock?

When Will Smith & wife Jada Pinkett Smith showed up at the Oscars, celebrities & viewers alike expected the usual. She’d be a little standoffish but she’d smile through the slightly awkward jokes about her recent relationship drama. He’d tell Dad jokes & maybe cry a little while talking about his craft.

They wouldn’t exactly be wrong. Yet, they wouldn’t be right either. What happened last night has taken the world by storm. It definitely took Chris Rock by surprise most of all. After all, the man got on stage to tell jokes then ended the night getting slapped by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

It was the slap heard around the world. He even had a few words for the comedian after he walked off stage. People are now wondering if Will Smith did that because he wanted to or because Jada Pinkett told him to do it for her.

Repeat offender

In 2016, the iconic comedian joined the ranks of Whoopi Goldberg & Ellen DeGeneres when he hosted the Oscars. Rock is a habitual line-stepper when it comes to his jokes. He’s made a career out of pushing the envelope regardless of the audience.

However, even then his jokes about Jada Pinkett boycotting the Oscars might’ve been a sore subject for Will Smith. Rock suggested her actions made no sense since she probably wasn’t invited in the first place. He even suggested that she was really just mad her husband wasn’t nominated for his film Concussion.

Celebrities have to develop a thick skin when it comes to people joking about their lives. In the current meme culture, it’s adapt or be laughed out of the industry. At the same time, though, even a celebrity can be pushed too far.

Crossing the line

According to the internet, it’s hard to say who was in the wrong. Some think Will Smith is wrong for slapping Rock to protect Jada Pinkett. Others think Rock was wrong for joking about her being bald since she’s been publicly suffering from a hair condition.

The night started off innocently enough. Hosts Regina Hall, Wanda Sykes, & Amy Schumer were lightly roasting celebrities between hilariously taking the flame to each other. Then Rock implied the Red Table Talk host would be a perfect fit for a J.I. Jane sequel due to her baldness.

If Jada Pinkett was bald by choice, Will Smith might not have felt the need to put hands on Rock. In fact, Smith initially laughed at the joke until he noticed his wife’s upset reaction. This is where the speculation comes in about whether she told him to do it.

Smith vs. Rock

The Academy Awards, known by many as the Oscars, is a prestigious night for people in the film industry. It’s a tightly controlled event where even acceptance speeches are timed for efficiency. The most exciting thing that usually happens is someone gets played off stage for taking too long.

No one expected Will Smith to slap Rock for telling a joke about Jada Pinkett. Many people thought it was a joke up until the point of contact. When she rolled her eyes, it seemed like a jokingly overexaggerated reaction. When Smith approached Rock, it was assumed he would eventually reveal a laugh & hug for the other man.

The auditorium – previously filled with laughter & good vibes – went silent in shock. Celebrities & viewers were stunned. It was hard to believe the moment had actually happened. This uncertainty sent them running to Twitter to confirm what had just happened.

Twitter goes wild

Social media has taken to calling this incident The Slap once they confirmed it actually happened. Will Smith had indeed slapped Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett. After the confirmation, the discourse started & so did the internet jokes.

Euphoria writers wrote the script for tonight!

This is Lexi's play! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/geylvpDHzX

— mandy//The Battinson ❓0❓❓ (@BattinsonMarvel) March 28, 2022

Some even compared The Slap to when Maddy slapped Cassie in season 2 of Euphoria. It was a shocking moment that will go down in history, which means the memes will be endless. Hopefully, no one else gets slapped for poking fun.

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Where were you when The Slap happened? Do you think Will Smith was right to defend Jada Pinkett? Or do you think Chris Rock was just doing his job? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!