It was the slap heard around the world.
Actor Will Smith during the Oscars took offense to a remark comedian Chris Rock made about his wife, charged the stage and smacked him before returning to his seat to cuss him out. And the world is buzzing about it.
No doubt, you’ve seen Will Smith smack Chris Rock, who was presenting at the Oscars Sunday night. But there’s perhaps more to the story than meets the eye.
Before winning best actor Oscar for his role in King Richard, Smith was laughing along with the audience as Rock mini-roasted his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Jada. But his wife didn’t find any humor in the comments about her hair.
See, Jada began losing her hair in 2018 due to a condition called alopecia. Alopecia is an autoimmune disorder that causes your hair to come out, often in clumps about the size of a quarter. The body’s immune system starts to attack its own hair follicles.
In July 2021, Jada shaved her head. She opened up about this in December. Jada also showed off her head at the Oscars and Chris Rock made a joke that she felt crossed the line.
You can actually hear Smith’s palm make contact with Rock’s face. Rock played it off well. Some people even thought it was part of a skit. But when Smith started dropping F-bombs at Rock from his seat, telling him to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth, it was a tense moment.
I expound on this in my podcast and offer prayer points, but here's some insight: God for spiritual fathers like Denzel Washington in Hollywood. Smith confesses Christianity. He’s said in interviews that he loves the Lord. Knowing this, Washington gave him a fatherly pep talk and was emotional from the audience as Smith shared the advice publicly through tears.
