Notable public figures weighed in late on Sunday night about actor Will Smith striking comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife during the 94th Academy Awards.
The Daily Wire reported:
During a segment at the Oscars, the 57-year-old comedian remarked about how no one was wearing a mask in the theater before he turned his attention to Denzel Washington and praised him for his part in the movie “The Tragedy of MacBeth.” The superstar comedian then spotted Will Smith’s wife in the audicen and cracked a joke about how Jada was going to be in the next “G.I. Jane” movie.
“Jada, I love ya,” Rock said. “G.I. Jane 2 movie, can’t wait to see it.”
Smith then got up from his seat and struck Rock in the face.
“Oh wow, wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** outta me,” Rock said.
Smith then repeatedly shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”
“Wow, dude,” Rock replied. “It was a G.I. Jane joke.”
Notable responses included:
- Conan O’Brien: “Just saw the Will Smith slap. Anyone have a late night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?”
- Clay Travis: “Where is Chris Rock? Is he still back stage? Was kind of hoping he would come out with a folding chair and hit Will Smith during the acceptance speech.”
- Stephen A. Smith: “Total BS by @willsmith . If his night is ruined because of this he deserves it. The man has Denzel & Bradley Cooper trying to calm him down. For what? A joke about his wife in G.I. Joe? Come on! The s*** was embarrassing! A very very bad look! Love Will. But not after this B.S.”
- Maria Shriver: “#WillSmith says he wants to be a vessel for love. Love is not violent. Love is not what was displayed on a global stage tonight.” She continued, “We should never get to a place where we sit and watch a movie star hit someone on global television then, moments later, get a standing ovation while talking about love.”
- Stephen L. Miller: “If Chris Rock wanted to say something to Will Smith that wouldn’t have made him angry he should have offered to sleep with his wife.”
- Piers Morgan: “It was real. Just seen the uncensored footage. Will Smith hit Chris Rock for cracking a GI Jane joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith (who suffers from alopecia) – then twice screamed ‘keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth’ at him Ugliest moment in Oscars history.”
- Dana White: “FINALLY!!!!! there’s an #Oscars show worth watching. AND @chrisrock has a chin.”
- Rob Reiner: “Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bulls***.”
- Will Cain: “Of all the things going on in that relationship between Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith we’re to believe this was the moment – a hair joke from Chris Rock – where Smith gets all old fashioned and chivalrous. Right.”
- Dan Abrams: “If this happened as it seems, the authorities should open a criminal battery investigation.”
- Mike Cernovich: “Will Smith committed a violent crime, took no responsibility, and then blamed it on his feelings. Perfect encapsulation of our times.”