Chris Rock Has History With Joking On Jada Pinkett-Smith At The Oscars

Things got rather weird at the 2022 Oscars this year, but instead of people tripping on the stage, getting caught eating pizza, or even naming the winner wrong, there was a resounding slap. After Chris Rock made a crack at Jada Pinkett-Smith, calling her G.I. Jane because of her shaved head, her husband Will Smith got angry enough to stride on stage. Where he then proceeded to "smack the sh** out of" Chris Rock.

Rock was visibly stunned at the action, if not the actual slap, and it took him precious seconds to compose himself. But Twitter feels this is an old fuel, just gone up to the next level. Here's the scoop...

About two-and-a-half hours into the show, Chris Rock came on to present the Oscar for documentary feature, breaking the ice with some comedy. He spotted Jada, saying, “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it!”

This was a nod to her shaven head, the way Demi Moore had worn it in the "G.I. Joe" movie. Pinkett-Smith did not seem enamored with the joke, because her shaven head is a result of her getting alopecia, a condition where hair loss is immense and can be painful. She had taken to announcing it in 2021, with a peppy Instagram video, but did not appreciate being the butt of jokes.

While the celebrities tittered half-heartedly, Rock carried on, calling it a “nice joke” but within a few seconds, Smith strode on stage. The audience cheered, expecting some verbal backtalk between the two, and Rock stood there with a friendly smile.

But the smile turned into shock and Smith hit Chris Rock and strode off. Everyone was taken aback when Will Smith took a swing at Rock, and initially, it seemed like a scripted joke.

In an uncensored version posted on Twitter, Rock is heard saying, “Oh wow… Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me” to which Smith, now back in his seat, mouthed, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”

Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke,” replied Rock, and Smith yelled out another warning, “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”

“I’m going to, okay?” Rock replied.

Finally, he said, “That was the … greatest night in the history of television” before carrying on to present the award.

For anyone familiar with the Madagascar franchise, the hippo, Gloria was voiced by Pinkett-Smith, while Marty, the zebra, was brought alive by Rock. They seemed fine enough during the movies, so to have such drama unfold at the 94th Annual Academy Awards struck many as a bit odd. This was also the reason why people thought it was a scripted skit.

But Rock also has a habit 0f mocking Pinkett-Smith especially when it comes to the Oscars.

Rock hosted the 2016 Academy Awards, more popular for the title, the year of #OscarsSoWhite. At the time, since Will Smith had not been nominated for his critically appreciated role in the movie "Concussion", Pinkett-Smith had announced that she would be boycotting the Oscars, in a Facebook video.

She had said, "Today is Martin Luther King’s birthday, and I can’t help but ask the question: Is it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere?” she noted. “Begging for acknowledgment, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are dignified people, and we are powerful. So let’s let the Academy do them, with all grace and love. And let’s do us, differently.”

Onstage, Chris Rock took the opportunity to mock Pinkett-Smith, to the point of being nasty when he said, “Isn’t she on a TV show?”

To "white audience" laughter, he carried on saying, "Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”

We aren't sure if Rihanna responded to the same, but when quizzed about it, Jada Pinkett-Smith took it in stride, saying, "t comes with the territory, sweetheart. Hey, look, it comes with the territory, but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. There’s a lot of stuff we gotta handle, a lot of stuff in our world right now. We gotta keep it moving.”

Even then, Chris Rock has managed to upset plenty of people, but this time, Will Smith could not take it anymore. Later, in his Best Actor acceptance speech for "King Richard", Smith apologized.

“I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people,” he continued. “I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse. You’ve got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you’ve got to smile and you’ve got to pretend like that’s okay.”

He did apologize to the Academy but remained silent about Chris Rock. However, it seems Smith and Rock have buried the hatchet, as per Diddy.