After comedian Chris Rock made fun of Will Smith’s wife’s medical condition, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia which causes hair loss for many Black women, Smith got up from his seat in the audience, climbed onstage and slapped Chris Rock hard.
However, could Smith have faked his slap? Several sources are claiming that there is evidence to suggest that both Smith and Rock staged the whole thing for publicity.
As Rare’s report states, “slow-mo video pretty well shows that Rock was ready for this entire thing.” You can see Smith’s infamous Oscar slap in the video below, and make the decision for yourself whether Rock knew he was going to be hit live on national television.
An image going around the internet has people wondering if the Oscars slap was real or not. The picture of Chris Rock seems to show the comedian wearing a cheek guard, which would mean he could take the hit from Smith’s right-hand slap. However, many believe this image was edited to create rumors on purpose.
Some say that Smith was only acting to protect his wife’s name. Rock had joked about Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia, a condition that results in hair loss and is especially prevalent among African American women. Alopecia not only causes physical struggles but also places immense social pressure on black women across the globe who often have to contend with baldness or thinning hair.
When Rock saw Jada Pinkett-Smith with a shaved head, he joked that she looked like G.I. Jane from the Demi Moore movie where she shaves her own head to better fit in with the Army. However, Pinkett-Smith didn’t choose to go bald as Moore did in the film; Rather, a disease that causes thinning and halting of hair growth forced Pinkett-Smith into baldness.
Although Smith found the joke amusing at first – he was even filmed laughing along with Rock’s comment – his wife was not pleased about the joke being made about her illness. As soon as Smith realized that the joke had caused pain to his wife, he stood up and challenged Rock with a slap to the face.
However, writers for Rare propose that Smith and Rock might have concocted the scheme from the start.
“But defending his wife against a longtime friend? Nah. These guys are boys.”
But if the incident was faked, as many people claim, who received the benefit from all the attention it generated? The entire movie industry saw an uptick in viewership after years of boycotts and disgruntled viewers.
Many people argue whether the slap was staged or not, but most come to agree that it was authentic. Smith didn’t plan to have this documented on national television, he was only defending his wife’s honor.
