A history going back to 1995?
Bad blood, worse jokes, and startling revelations - here's how Chris Rock and Will Smith's friendship
shattered.
Things are not looking so friendly between "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star Will Smith
and comedian Chris Rock.
During a live international broadcast of the 2022 Oscars, Smith slapped Rock after the
host made comments about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The heated incident began when Rock compared Jada's buzz cut to the hairstyle Demi Moore
rocked in the movie "G.I.
Jane."
Jada has been open about the fact that she suffers from alopecia, a medical condition
which causes intense hair loss.
As a result, her husband did not take Rock's joke lightly.
In fact, the "Hitch" star went up onstage to hit Rock while millions watched.
Once he was back in his seat, Smith shouted at the Oscar presenter,
"Keep my wife's name out of your f—ing mouth!"
Rock managed to keep his cool, and calmly told the crowd,
"Will Smith just smacked the s— out of me."
The violent confrontation came as a complete shock to those watching at home, as well as
everyone in the live audience.
As noted by The Washington Post, Will was initially seen laughing at Rock's joke, but
his mood quickly changed.
The Los Angeles Police Department even stated that they had been informed of the altercation.
However, the department clarified that Rock "declined" to file a police report against
Smith.
But this isn't the first time that Rock has teased Will and his wife.
And now this intense moment has people looking back at what may be quite a strained relationship.
"King Richard" star Will Smith and "Grown Ups" actor Chris Rock have reportedly known
each other for more than two decades.
Their relationship goes all the way back to 1995 when the two acted alongside each other
in "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air."
Additionally, Will's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, also has a past with the comedian.
Jada and Rock starred together in three "Madagascar" movies.
The trio's alleged feud first hit the spotlight at the 2016 Oscars when Rock decided to make
digs at Jada for not attending due to lack of diversity among that year's nominees.
With neither Will nor Jada present at the 2016 Academy Awards, Rock took a moment to
poke fun at the celebrity couple.
As he joked to the audience,
"Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties.
I wasn't invited!"
Rock went on to bash Will, who was snubbed that year for his role in "Concussion," saying,
"It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated.
It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for 'Wild Wild West.'"
Their relationship reportedly declined further in November 2018.
When Will paid tribute his ex-wife, Sheree Zampino, on her birthday, Rock decided to
comment,
"You have a very understanding wife."
Four years later, it seems matters have only gotten worse.
It's also worth noting that Smith didn't apologize to Rock at the Oscars for the slap, but he
did apologize to the comedian the next night on Instagram.
However, when Smith won Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his part in
"King Richard," he used his acceptance speech to make some apologies. Smith told viewers
he was sorry about the violent and unexpected incident saying,
"Love will make you do crazy things."
He also cheekily added,
"I'm hoping the academy invites me back."
"At my level, when I put something out into the world, people take it as the truth."
The actor was lucky he made it to his acceptance speech, though, as an industry source told
People that Will was almost removed from the ceremony.
It's not exactly clear where Smith's reputation with the Academy stands, but the global organization
later denounced the onstage violence that took place during the broadcast.
People's source also noted,
"Behind the scenes there were a lot of people, and different voices [...] weighing in on
what had just happened and what was the best and quickest course of action.
People were also checking that Chris Rock was okay."
Although Rock has reportedly agreed not to press any changes against Smith, there hasn't
been any public comment from the comedian.
Rapper Diddy told the crowd moments after the heated incident,
"Will and Chris, we're going to solve that like family."
It seems as though Smith and Rock probably need to spend some time apart right now.
It also seems unlikely that Rock will be making any jokes about the Smiths anytime soon.
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