More than half in new poll blame Chris Rock for sparking The Slap at the Oscars and less than 50 percent say Will Smith was wrong
- A Blue Rose Research poll found that of 2,162 American’s surveyed, more than half blamed Chris Rock for Sunday’s Oscar-slapping incident
- A majority of those 18 to 64 years old and those making less than $100,000-a-year agreed that Rock was more in the wrong
- About 56.5 percent of women also put the blame on Rock, but 52.4 percent of men disagreed and said Smith was to blame
- Smith, 53, won his first Academy Award ever after a stunning on-stage meltdown
- On Monday, he apologized for slapping Rock after the comedian joked about Smith’s wife’s shaved head at the Oscars
More than half of Americans sided with Will Smith over Chris Rock in the now-infamous Oscars-slapping incident, according to a new poll that asked ‘Who do you think was more in the wrong?’
Blue Rose Research, a Democratic pollster, surveyed 2,162 Americans online regarding the heated moment at Sunday’s Academy Awards between Rock and Smith, with 52.3 percent of people saying Rock deserved what he got after he joked about Smith’s wife’s shave head.
While the comedian continued his bit, Will Smith abruptly went on stage and walked up to Rock and slapped him across the face, and then telling him from his seat, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth,’ which stunned the crowd at the Dolby Theatre.
While Smith has received the lion’s share of public criticism and faces possible discipline from the Academy over the slap, data revealed a majority of Americans are on Team Smith, according to Blue Rose Researcher David Shor.
The poll comes ahead of an emergency meeting of the Academy’s board scheduled for Wednesday that will if Smith will suffer any punishment for his actions.
Out of 2,162 Americans surveyed about the incident, more than half believed that Chris Rock was more in the wrong and that Will Smith was justified in slapping him
A majority of those 18 to 64 years old and those making less than $100,000-a-year agreed that Rock was more in the wrong. About 56.5 percent of women also put the blame on Rock, but 52.4 percent of men disagreed and said Smith was to blame
Smith (right) strutted to Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night when the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife’s shaven head, which was due to a medical condition
The actor slapped Rock in the face, initially stunning audiences, some of whom cheered. While both actors faced criticism over the incident, most appear to be on Smith’s side
Those surveyed were given the following question: ‘Last night, there was an incident at the Academy Awards show you may have heard about. The host, comedian Chris Rock, made a comment about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss, joking that she should be cast in a movie as G.I Jane.
‘In response, her husband, actor Will Smith, stormed on the stage and slapped Rock across the face. Who do you think was more in the wrong?’
According to the results, the majority of those between 18 and 64 years old believed Rock was in the wrong, while about 51.8 percent of those 65 and older thought Smith was the one who crossed the line.
Men and women were divided on the issue, with 56.5 percent of women agreeing that Rock was most at fault while 52.4 percent of men thought Smith was the one to blame.
In terms of income, the majority of those who made less than $100,000-a-year blamed Rock while the majority of those who made more blamed Smith.
About 51.1 percent of white people thought Rock was at fault, as did 56 percent of black people and 55.7 percent of Hispanics and Native Americans. Asians were split down the middle, according to the poll.
When lining up the issue with how people voted in the 2020 presidential election, about 50.1 percent of Joe Biden voters put the blame on Smith while 50.8 percent of Donald Trump voters blamed Rock.
The majority of those who backed another candidate or did not vote also blamed Rock.
The poll also found that the majority of people who agreed that spanking a child was ‘sometimes necessary’ for discipline believed Rock was at fault while the majority of those who disagreed with the statement faulted Smith.
Shor also displayed the results in a presidential electoral map, demonstrating that if people voted with how they perceived the slapping incident, Smith would sweep the with 470 electoral votes to Rock’s 68.
If people voted with how they perceived the slapping incident, Smith would sweep with 470 electoral votes to Rock’s 68, according to Blue Rose Research’s poll
The incident appeared to over shadow Smith’s Best Actor victory, becoming only the fifth black man in history to win the award (above)
The slap that stunned the Oscars has left many picking sides and commenting on who was truly in the wrong.
Comedian Katherine Ryan defended Rock and criticized Smith for being unable to ‘take a joke’, following the quip about his wife Jada’s shaved head.
Jada has been dealing with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes the loss of hair, since 2018, but Chris has said he wasn’t aware she suffered from it.
Ryan wrote in a tweet: ‘Yes, [Smith] has to sit and watch his wife be insulted, yes that’s the point of the celeb monologue. Can’t take a joke, stay home.’
Craig Melvin, host of the Today Show, also condemned Smith, for fueling ‘this long-held perception that men of color can’t control their rage and anger.’
‘It was really disappointing,’ Melvin said on Monday. ‘If you’re rearing a boy, especially in this country, you spend so much time talking to our kids about keeping your hands to yourself and this long health perception that man of color can’t control their rage and their anger and to see someone who’s been that beloved for decades – it was troubling on so many levels.’
Benedict Cumberbatch, a fellow Best Actor nominee, as well as Best Director nominee Paul Thomas Anderson and actress Maya Rudolph, were some of the stars who stood for Smith
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey slammed the audience at Sunday’s Academy Awards for giving Will Smith a standing ovation following his now infamous slap of Chris Rock
Whoopi Goldberg doubled down on her promise to punish Will Smith during Tuesday’s show, saying, ‘There are consequences. There are big consequences because nobody is OK with what happened. Nobody, nobody, nobody’
Later on Monday morning, The View co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Ana Navarro also slammed Smith, calling his shocking outburst ‘immature and childish.’ But co-host Whoopi Goldberg stepped in with a different take.
‘I think he overreacted…I think he had one of those moments where it was like G.D. it, just stop,’ Goldberg said. ‘I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped.’
Goldberg, who is also a member of the Academy board of governors, said she believes Smith will be able to keep his Oscar but will face ‘big consequences because nobody is OK with what happened.’
Smith has since apologized over the incident, which overshadowed his Oscar win for Best Actor.
Actor and comedian Jim Carrey also believed Smith crossed the line and slammed members of the Academy for clapping after he slapped Rock.
‘I was sickened by the standing ovation,’ he said, referring to when Smith took home the Best Actor award not long after the slap incident. ‘I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. It really felt like this is a clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.’
Benedict Cumberbatch, a fellow Best Actor nominee, as well as Best Director nominee Paul Thomas Anderson and actress Maya Rudolph were some of the stars who stood for Smith’s win. Venus and Serena Williams, whose father was portrayed by Smith in King Richard, also stood.
‘You do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody on the face because they said words,’ Carrey said.
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