Tag: chris rock

  • Chris Rock sparks controversy after comments about Meghan Markle, Will Smith in Netflix special

    Chris Rock has sparked outrage on social media after making controversial comments about fellow actor Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinket Smith, as well as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle.

    Will Smith got universally slammed last year after hitting Rock the Oscars after the comedian cracked a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s, baldness.

    “Jada, I love you. G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, all right?” said Rock.

    Smith went on stage, slapped Rock and bellowed “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”

    At the Netflix special, Rock addressed the controversy for the first time:

    “Y’all know what happened to me, getting smacked by Shug Smith. Everybody knows. Everybody f*ing knows. Yes. It happened: Like a year ago, I got smacked at the fing Oscars by this motherf*ker.”

    Rock then said he saw Smith’s new film ‘Emancipation’ to watch him getting beaten up. Smith plays a former slave who fights to seek his freedom:

    “I loved Will Smith, my whole life I loved him. I saw him open for Run DMC … he has made some great movies. I have rooted for Will Smith my whole life. And now I watch Emancipation just to see him get whooped.”

    This comment has sparked outrage on Twitter, as users called Rock insensitive for mocking a film about slavery

    Rock also didn’t hold back from trolling about Pinkett-Smith’s affair with rapper August Alsina, which she had confessed to at the Red Table Talk:

    “Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody knows what the fk happened. And everybody really knows I had nothing to do with that shit. I didn’t have any ‘entanglements’…His wife was fking his son’s friend, OK? I normally would not talk about this shit, but for some reason … [they] put that shit on the internet. I have no idea why two talented people would do something that lowdown. What the fk?”

    Rock also talked about Meghan Markle and the interview with Oprah where she had opened up about experiencing racism when she had married Prince Harry and became the Duchess of Sussex:

    “It’s the royal family! You didn’t Google these motherfers? What the fk is she talking about, ‘she didn’t know’? They’re the original racists. They invented colonialism. They’re the OGs of racism. They’re the Sugar Hill Gang of racism.”

  • Will Smith reveals the aftermath of his slapping controversy, gets emotional

    Will Smith reveals the aftermath of his slapping controversy, gets emotional

    Actor Will Smith appeared on The Daily Show With Trevor Noah in the first late-night interview since the Oscars controversy.

    Promoting his new historical drama Emancipation, Smith’s conversation with the late-night host naturally dug into his Oscars night controversy, in which he slapped Chris Rock onstage as the comedian was introducing the category of best documentary feature.

    Will Smith appears on 'The Daily Show' in first late-night interview since Oscars slap

    “I have been away,” Will Smith said, drawing a laugh from the crowd when the topic of his absence from the public eye came up, reports Variety.

    “That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. There’s many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day, I just – I lost it, you know?” Will Smith continued.

    “I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behaviour at all… It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That is not who I want to be.”

    Trevor Noah interjected, offering his own perspective on the situation and recalling the discussions he had with peers about the controversy.

    “I love Chris. I’m friends with him. I love you, but this is fucked up… I know that as Black people, Black people get together and go, ‘What was Will doing? What the hell happened?’ A lot of Black people were like, ‘He should go to jail, Like, you need to relax yourself’,” Trevor Noah said, earning a laugh from Smith.

    “Some people were overreacting, which made some people underreact.”

    Will Smith shared an anecdote from the aftermath of Oscars evening when he was already having to deal with the consequences of his outburst in his private life.

    “I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time,” Smith said, “My nephew is nine. He is the sweetest little boy.”

    “We came home. He had stayed up late to see his uncle Will and we are sitting in my kitchen and he is on my lap and holding the Oscar and he is just like, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?’ Damn it. Why are you trying to Oprah me?”

    Will Smith also discussed Emancipation, sharing the decision-making that led him to the project. Based on true events, the film stars Smith as a runaway slave who becomes known to the world as “Whipped Peter,” as widely distributed photographs of keloid scarring on his back exposed the extreme brutality of slavery.

    First seeing that image was one of the things that really got me excited to explore this, because you see the image, but you don’t know who he is, you don’t know what the story is,” Will Smith said. “American slavery was one of the most brutal aspects of human history… It is hard to understand the level of human cruelty. My daughter asked me, daddy, do we really need another slave movie? I said, Daby, ‘I promise you, I wouldn’t make a slave movie. This is a freedom movie’.”

    The Aladin star shocked everyone when he slapped Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards’ live broadcast.  

    Before presenting an award at the Oscars 2022, Chris joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, looking like ‘GI Jane 2’. This enraged the Aladin star who stormed the stage, lapping Chris and warning him to keep his wife’s name out of his ‘f*cking mouth’.

    Although Will posted an apology on social media.

  • Jada Pinkett Smith breaks silence on Will Smith’s controversial Oscars slap

    Jada Pinkett Smith breaks silence on Will Smith’s controversial Oscars slap

    The confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars has been discussed around the world in the days since. So many have had their say on the comedian’s joke and on the actor’s decision to respond by slapping Rock on the stage. Now, Jada  has broken her silence and shared a message on social media.

    It was a mysterious and cryptic message, with no caption and just an image with some text.

    “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,” the message on Smith’s Instagram said, with the post earning hundreds of thousands of likes from her nearly 12 million followers and others.

    Pinkett Smith did not comment amid the furore and public debate that ensued over the merits of Rock’s joke and Smith’s actions until Tuesday, posting to Instagram: “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it”.

    Although Will posted an apology on social media.

    Rock is yet to comment publicly on what happened at the Oscars or Smith’s apology.

    However, tickets for his upcoming comedy shows have reportedly skyrocketed in Sunday’s aftermath.

    One live event ticketing site, TickPick, said on Monday that it sold more tickets the previous night than it did in the past month combined.

    A spokesperson also told CBS that prices for an upcoming Rock show on Wednesday in Boston rose from $46 (£35.16) to $411 (£314).

    More than half of all ticket sales for Rock’s tour – which went on sale a month ago – came after the incident at the Oscars. The vast majority – 88% – of ticket sales for Rock’s shows on the website over the last week came after the incident.

    Shortly after the on-stage blow, Smith won his first ever Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.

    Smith referred to Mr Williams in his tearful acceptance speech, calling him a “fierce defender of his family”.

    On Monday, Mr Williams condemned Smith and expressed surprise that the incident had taken place.

    “We don’t know all the details of what happened,” he told NBC through his son, Chavoita LeSane. “But we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self defence.”

    Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith

    Earlier in April 2021 Jada Pinkett Smith trended on web for her hijab pictures.

    The American actor on Tuesday posted a sun-kissed selfie of herself sporting a peach hijab while she and husband Will Smith spend time in the Middle East. It is not yet clear which country the couple is in though.

    “I really think the colour peach in the Middle East … suits me,” wrote Smith in the caption.

    Fans and followers, including celebrities, loved Smith’s selfie and gushed over her in the comments section for embracing Muslim culture.

    “Beautiful! Thank you for embracing the culture,” wrote one social media user, while Priyanka Chopra commented: “Beautiful.”

    “Salaam, you look phenomenal. Queen, thank you for showing the world that you and Will got love for us. We really appreciate it. Sometimes we are made to feel that the world is against us. Queens like you show the world there is nothing to fear and contrary to certain beliefs, we don’t hate the world or non-Muslims. I actually welcome, embrace and love all people. Thank you,” wrote another follower.

    Earlier, Jada had also shared pictures of herself wearing a bright, orange hijaab, with the caption: “When you are in the Middle East watching Will Smith on his sunrise run in my non-glamour glory.”

    Jada, who has denied being affiliated with any religion, in a series of tweets in 2017, admitted that she incorporates different aspects of several religions in her spiritual routine.

    “I recently lit Shabbat candles with Rabbi Bentley at Temple Sinai…but I am not Jewish. I have prayed in mosques all over the world…but I am not a Muslim,” said the actor.

    “I have read the Bhagavad Gita…but I am not a Hindu. I have chanted and meditated in some of the most magnificent temples on earth…but I am not a Buddhist,” she said further. “I have studied Dianetics, and appreciate the merits of Study Tech…but I am not a Scientologist.”

    “I practice human kindness, and I believe that we each have the right to determine what we are and what we are not. NO ONE ELSE can hold that power,” added Smith.