I’m not even gonna lie, the relationship between Will Smith and Chris Rock has been a subject of public interest, we all saw what happened at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022, how Chris Rock was making joke of Will Smith’s wife and Will Smith got upset. understand what really happened the two of them, lets look at the incident that led to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock .
Professional Interactions and Collaborations
Will Smith and Chris Rock are both a big name in the entertainment industry, they are both successful and have even featured in some movie together.
Example is the work they collaborated was in the Madagascar” film series. In that series, they used there voice to animated the characters. There are other instances too when the two of them worked on a project, this will suggest that they a a cordial working relationship
The 2016 Oscars and Prior Tensions
So in 2016, Chris Rock happened to be the host for the Academy Awards, and doing that time, the ceremony was facing a little bit of criticism because of it’s lack of diversity. This was what led to the #OscarsSoWhite movement. A lot of celebrities were involve in the movement, especially black celebrity, but Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s wife, boycotted the event in protest.
So when Chris Rock was giving his opening speech, Rock joked about Pinkett Smith’s absence, he said ” “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.” He also made some joke about Pinkett Smith shaved hair and compared her with Demi Moore in the 1997 film, GI Jane. This got will smith mad , he walked up to Chris Rock on the stage and slapped him.
Are Will Smith and Chris Rock Friends?
I know a lot of people want to know if Will Smith and Chris Rock have reconciled after the incident, well after the whole incident, Will Smith actually apologized to Chris Rock for his behavior at the ceremony, he described his behavior as “unacceptable and inexcusable.” He went further to expressed how embarrassed he felt, showing remorse and stating that his actions were not indicative of the man he wanted to be.
Even though Will Smith apologized, they still are not friends! There have not been any report of the two speaking after the incident. During one of Chris Rock’s shows, he brought the matter up, stating how shocked he was at the incident and saying that Will Smith and himself haven’t yet discussed it.
So the direct answer is, no! Will Smith and Chris Rock are not friend. We hope they both reconcile though, and move pass what had happened before.
Public and Professional Repercussions
You know what they say,” every action has a consequence”. The incident that happened has some consequence, particularly for Will Smith. First off, Will Smith resigned from the the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Not only that, he got banned from attending Academy events for 10-year, that is a lot of years to get banned.
On the hand, the incident has also affected Chris Rock. There are people are believed that Chris Rock was wrong for making joke with Jada’s shaved hair, stating that she had a medical condition and the joke was insensitive. Chris Rock also experienced a a surge in ticket sales for his comedy tour because of that incident.
Conclusion
It is true that Will Smith and Chris Rock have worked together and interacted professionally , and even when it didn’t have to do with work, but their relationship went south following the 2022 Oscars incident. Will Smith have publicly apologized to Chris Rock , but something apology doesn’t solve it all, there’s no report or indication that the two are in good terms.
I think what we can learn from this incident is that it’s always good to control your emotion, no matter how angry or irritated you get, especially as a celebrity, because people are watching.
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