Will Smith was comforted by Bradley Cooper and Denzel Washington after punching Chris Rock at the Oscars
The 53-year-old star, who won his first Oscar later at the ceremony, took
offense when the comedian made a joke about Will's wife, Jada Pinkett
Smith.
Chris made fun of Jada's bald head by joking, “Jada, I love
you.
Jada was diagnosed with alopecia in 2018 and has
been outspoken about how her hair loss has affected her confidence over the
years. She seemed unimpressed and rolled her eyes when Chris made the joke,
while Will initially seemed to laugh.
Chris was obviously shocked by the incident and responded, “Oh
wow. Oh. Will Smith just slapped me."
The live audience,
made up of some of Hollywood's biggest stars, looked confused as they
giggled awkwardly, wondering if the altercation had been staged, while
viewers at home wondered the same thing.
But when
Will got back in his seat, it was clear that this was a genuine and
unplanned response, as he yelled at Chris, "Keep my wife's name out of your
fucking mouth."
Looking uncomfortable as the crowd fell silent, Chris replied,
"Wow, man, it was a gi jane. I'm kidding," but Will repeated, "Keep my
wife's name out of your fucking mouth."
"I'm leaving, okay?" Chris said awkwardly before going on the
show and announcing the nominees for best documentary film.
He couldn't hide his emotion as he received a standing ovation
as he walked onto the stage, and soon burst into tears as he delivered a
moving speech about protecting the family from him.
"Richard Williams was a fierce supporter of
his family," Will began. "At this point in my life, at this moment, I am
overwhelmed by what God is calling me to do and be in this world."
Will shared advice fellow actor Denzel Washington gave him
shortly after he slapped Chris.
“I know that to do what we do, you have to be able to
take abuse, you have to be able to get people talking crazy about you in
this industry, you have to be able to have people disrespect you,” he said.
. . "You have to smile and pretend it's okay."
"Thanks,
D," he continued. "Denzelle [Washington] told me a few minutes ago, he told
me, 'At your best be careful. That's when the devil comes for you.'”
Will also apologized to the Academy and his fellow candidates,
before adding: “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, as they
said of Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.
Reporter Rebecca Ford was present at the ceremony and
before Will's speech she revealed that Denzel had dropped the actor during
the commercial break after he punched Chris.
He
tweeted at the time: "During this break, Denzel took Will aside to talk to
him and they walk[ed] away from their spots together."
She then continued to comfort Jada and stayed by his side
even as he finished the break, with Rebecca writing, "Denzel now has his arm
around Jada and is kneeling beside him even when the show has started."
.
Denzel wasn't the only A-lister to comfort Will after his fight
with Chris. Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry also signed on.
In
a video shared on Twitter from inside the ceremony, filmed during a
commercial break — a look viewers rarely, if ever, see — Tyler and Denzel
shook Will's shoulders, apparently telling him to put it aside. the
situation.
When Will returned to his seat, Bradley
walked over to him and placed a hand on each of his shoulders as he seemed
to offer him words of comfort.
The Nightmare Alley actor pulled Will in for two
hugs before parting ways as a voiceover announced that break was coming to
an end.
Will appeared to wipe away tears as he dabbed
at his eyes with a tissue and spoke briefly with her manager before sitting
down next to Jada, Denzel crouching beside her with his arm around her
shoulders.
Despite his emotional evening, Will seemed to be in good
spirits at the official Vanity Fair afterparty after the ceremony.
In
fact, Will was filmed proudly clutching his Oscar as he danced and sang to
his own song, "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," surrounded by a swarm of fans.
He seemed more than happy to perform for the growing crowd, who cheered and cheered as they filmed Will on their cell phones.
Elsewhere, some people have claimed that Will shed light on the
Chris Rock situation on Instagram. He previously shared a video of him and
Jada getting ready for the Oscars on his social media page, with the perhaps
disturbing caption: "Me and @jadapinkettsmith dressed to choose
chaos."
Two hours later, he commented on the post: "You can't invite
people from Philly or Baltimore anywhere!!"
While this appears to be a reference to his altercation with
Chris, the timing does not match and it appears that he actually added the
comment before the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, Chris no longer acknowledged the
incident and police said he refused to file a complaint against Will.
The Film Academy spoke out against Will's actions in a
brief statement on social media, which read: "The Academy does not condone
violence in any form. Tonight we are thrilled to celebrate our 94th Academy
Awards, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and
moviegoers around the world."
