Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith on Sunday night wasn’t his first, but it might have been his last.
Will Smith came onto the stage at the 94th Academy Awards after Jada Pinkett Smith joked, “Jada, I love you, ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to watch that,” and punched Rock in the face.
Pinkett Smith has a close haircut because she suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune illness that causes hair loss, and actress Demi Moore famously shaved her head for her role in the film “G.I. Jane.”
In 2016, Rock hosted the Oscars and joked about Pinkett Smith and her husband boycotting because of #OscarsSoWhite, an online movement started to protest the Academy Awards’ lack of diversity.
The Smiths, as well as Black director Spike Lee, “went insane” over the matter, according to Rock, because there were no Black acting candidates that year.
During his opening monologue, Rock quipped, “Jada’s boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s pantsies.” “I didn’t get an invitation.”
Rock then joked that he could understand Pinkett Smith’s rage.
“Jada is furious that her boyfriend Will wasn’t nominated for ‘Concussion.’” In reference to Will Smith’s role in the 2015 football film, Rock stated. “I understand. It’s not fair that Will was so brilliant but didn’t receive an award nomination. Will being paid $20 million for [the 1999 picture] ‘Wild Wild West’ is likewise unjust.”
When asked about the jokes by photographers days later, Pinkett Smith said.
“Look, it’s part of the deal; we’ve got to keep moving,” she explained. “We have a lot of things to deal with, and there is a lot going on in our globe right now. It’s critical that we keep moving forward.”
When asked, Smith simply smiled and flashed a peace sign, according to E! Smith was filming “Collateral Beauty” in New York City at the time.
Smith and Rock have been friends since the 1990s. Rock appeared as a guest role on Smith’s famous show “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” playing Maurice and Maurice’s sister Jasmine.
Smith paid his ex-wife Sheree Zampino, the mother of his adult son Trey, a birthday tribute on his verified Instagram account in 2018.
“#BestBabyMamaEver, @shereezampino, happy birthday! Ree-Ree, I adore you “According to the caption,
Rock said in a statement, “Wow, that was incredible. You’ve got a wonderful wife, don’t you? “as stated by E! “Don’t hate,” Zampino said in response.
While winning his best actor prize for “King Richard” on Sunday night, Smith apologized to his fellow nominees and the Academy.
“We do not condone violence in any way,” the Academy tweeted.
