Did Chris Rock purposefully poke the bear?
As the world grapples with the shocking turn of events at Sunday night’s Oscars – you know, the moment Will Smith stormed the stage to slap the stand-up comedian following an insensitive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head — we are learning more details about how that situation came to be.
In a juicy new report from Us Weekly, it turns out that the Everybody Hates Chris alum went rogue before Will did!
According to a source, Chris’ jab at Jada was a spur-of-the-moment decision and wasn’t pre-vetted by the production team. When the presenter practiced his part of the ceremony in a rehearsal, he reportedly neglected to include the G.I. Jane reference. The insider also noted:
“Will was not in attendance for rehearsal.”
That’s not unusual — Will wasn’t a presenter after all. But why didn’t Chris verify his comment with the producers beforehand?! Did he know his joke might be off-limits? Or was it something he thought of once the show had already started? It’s hard to know, but either way the Oscars’ producers are clearly trying to avoid blame for that drama.
Chris, on the other hand, seems to be leaning into it. As Perezcious readers know, the Red Table Talk co-host has been open about her struggle with hair loss, and she was visibly upset with the joke the moment the words left the actor’s lips. Most viewers seemed to think this health condition was the reason for Will’s violent outburst… but could there be more at play here?
Sadly, yes. Chris and Will’s history goes way back — and it hasn’t always been pleasant, especially when it comes to Jada. Specifically, a source for People pointed out that this feud likely began back in 2016 when Rock was hosting the Oscars. It was the same year as the “Oscars So White” protests, which Jada was participating in by not attending the show. The confidant explained:
“When Chris hosted the Oscars in 2016, Jada was boycotting because of ‘Oscars So White.’ In his monologue, he made fun of her, saying she can’t boycott something she wasn’t invited to. Will was still mad about that.”
Oh, dang! So this feud has just been festering for six years??
If you need a refresher, during Rock’s monologue, the 57-year-old teased:
“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna‘s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
Yeesh. You can rewatch the whole thing (below), with his bit about Jada and Will beginning at 2:40.
No wonder the Smith family is beefing with Chris!
During Sunday night’s incident, the King Richard star smacked the presenter after it was clear his wife was upset by the joke. Returning to his seat, he then shouted:
“Keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth!”
A message the Madagascar alum didn’t get in 2016, we suppose! Visibly rattled by the assault, Chris seemed remorseful while trying to get Will to cool off, responding:
“I’m going to, okay?”
Innerestingly, later in the show while accepting his Best Actor award, Will acknowledged how difficult it can be to live in the public eye, saying tearfully:
“I know to do what we do you gotta be able to take abuse; you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and pretend like that’s okay.”
The G.I. Jane joke was his last straw, it seems…
While he apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and his fellow nominees, Chris was notably left off the list. Perhaps they should both be owning up to their mistakes now? The Academy is definitely looking into it. What do you think now knowing this backstory?
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