Comedians from Judd Apatow to Jaden Smith have weighed in on the controversial Oscars moment.
Nobody is talking about anything else today and so they shouldn’t be. Will Smith slapped Oscars host Chris Rock after the comedian made a tasteless gag about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia. Was Smith right to defend the honour and protect the emotions of his wife? Or was this a completely puerile and vulgar way of doing exactly that? Or…should Will Smith have done more? Was he exercising enormous restraint by holding himself back from biting off one of Rock’s ears? Why’s nobody talking about that?
What about the audience? Shouldn’t Ryan Gosling have got up and said something… anything? Why couldn’t Meryl Streep start lecturing us all on human virtue and correct moral conduct, just to take the edge off?
We’ve all been asking questions like these throughout the day, and there’ll be even more post-fight analysis and breakdowns sweeping across the media for the next 72 hours. Already, celebrities are pouring in with their two cents. Some controlled and insightful, others downright hysterical. Here’s a choice selection of the best.
First up is Judd Apatow losing his mind. The Knocked Up director, Anchorman producer and frequent Seth Rogan collaborator expressed his anguish and foaming hyperbole on Twitter, before swiftly deleting it after getting heavily ratio’d (when there are substantially more ‘quote tweets’ and replies than retweets or likes).
Judd Apatow getting ratio'd to hell feels like a fitting end to the night! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/AcXZGj7C0m
— Kate Aurthur (@KateAurthur) March 28, 2022
George Takei, Star Trek actor and activist, took a dim view on Smith’s actions:
Many people, especially kids, look up to actors. Because of that, we have an obligation to try to be good role models. With celebrity comes responsibility.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 28, 2022
Actress Mia Farrow roundly told people to get over Rock’s audacity, seemingly implying he could have gone harsher on his alopecia joke:
It was just a joke. Jokes are what Chris Rock does. Always has been edgy. This was a mild joke for him. And i love GI Jane
— Mia Farrow 🏳️🌈 🌻🇺🇦 (@MiaFarrow) March 28, 2022
No doubt secretly hoping he wouldn’t have to offer his own take on it, Leader of the Opposition Keir Starmer also provided his (very diplomatic) view:
'It was the wrong thing to do'
Sir Keir Starmer condemns Will Smith for hitting Chris Rock during last night's Oscars adding 'it didn't appear to be completely spontaneous' #CallKeir | @Keir_Starmer | @NickFerrariLBC pic.twitter.com/nsT1NoeXS5
— LBC (@LBC) March 28, 2022
Singer Nicki Minaj chose to focus on Pinkett Smith’s possible emotions, declaring Will Smith’s reaction one of heated passion and vengeance:
I love Chris Rock. I don’t think he would’ve made that joke had he known what Jada recently shared- but between him & the whole team @ the #Oscars you mean to tell me not ONE of y’all heard this woman just share this heartbreaking story? #ComeOnSon … (continue to next tweet)
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022
The husband gets a front row seat to his wife’s pain… he’s the 1 consoling her… drying her tears behind closed doors when those cameras go off. Social media has made ppl feel that these “husbands” won’t ever run into them in real life. (Continued again(last time)on next tweet)
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022
You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a “little joke” at her expense. This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. while y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022
Imagine what it must feel like to be losing your hair to the point where you have to shave it bald. You think that’s easy to deal with for anyone? You don’t think she’s cried about that many times? 2022 y’all gon have to see these men about those jokes you made about their wives.
— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022
Others leapt to Smith’s defence. His son Jaden Smith simply tweeted:
And That’s How We Do It
— Jaden (@jaden) March 28, 2022
Comedian Tiffany Haddish — who was Pinkett Smith’s costar in Girls Trip — told People she found the slap “beautiful” in an interview after the ceremony. “When I saw a black man stand up for his wife, that meant so much to me. As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you. And that meant the world to me. And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.”
In a since-deleted tweet, even U.S. Representative Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) lauded Smith for standing up for his wife. “Alopecia nation stand up!” she tweeted. “Thank you Will Smith Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives … Boys need not apply.”
Following the incident, the LAPD confirmed that Rock is not pressing charges against Smith at present, saying in a statement: “The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
Ultimately, whether you condone Smith’s actions or condemn Rock’s crass attitude to a woman’s struggle with hairloss disease, it was good to see the mask slip from what’s normally a hypertrophied love-in between out of touch millionaires. There was something almost Profumo-like about the collision and the fallout, especially the stunned bemusement of many who normally sit down to watch the Oscars feeling both disgusted and envious of the glamour and monied spectacle. There have been many awards ceremony gaffes like it, but none quite so primal and charged.
