They can share their thoughts. Will SmithSlapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars ignited a conversation — including from the Philadelphia native’s The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air costars.
Rock made a joke about the Academy Awards’ 94th Annual on March 27. Jada Pinkett Smithwhere he joked about her joining G.I. Jane 2. The Girls TripThe actress, who had previously admitted to having alopecia, laughed at the comment about her shaved hair.
Her husband then walked up to the stage, and slapped the comedian. “Will Smith just smacked the s—t out of me,” the South Carolina native said in censored footage that later circulated online. The King Richard star returned to his seat while yelling at Rock multiple times to “keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”
Smith accepted the award for best actor after he had won it later that night. “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people. I know to do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse,” he said at the time. “You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. You must be able to take people’s disrespect in this business. And you got to smile, you got to pretend like that’s OK.”
The Suicide Squad actor also apologized to Rock directly on social media, writing via Instagram, “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am sorry and my actions are not indicative of the man that I want to become. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Pinkett Smith, for her part, seemingly reacted to the incident when she shared an Instagram quote, which read, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”
Smith received support from his family members and former cast members amid a significant backlash. Janet HubertSmith, who was in a feud before, praised the author. I Am LegendOscars winner for actor. “There is only so much one can take … sometimes you have to slap back. Celebrate the win … nothing else matters,” she wrote via Instagram on March 28.
After Smith and Hubert discussed their past during the meeting, social media support was established. Bel-Air: The Fresh PrinceHBO Max Special
“We never really publicly talk about Janet and what happened,” the Gemini Manstar said before hugging the Chicago native who played Aunt Viv in November 2020. “For me, it felt like I couldn’t celebrate 30 years of Fresh Prince without finding a way to celebrate Janet. So she agreed to have a conversation. And Janet and I saw one another for the first time in 27 years yesterday.”
Hubert spoke out about the difficulties that she was experiencing before her departure in 1994. “During that third season when I got pregnant, there [were] a lot of things going on in my life and Will’s life as well,” she recalled during a talk with Smith. “Home life was not good at all. I couldn’t keep my hands off of the truth. [The] cast had no idea what was going on.”
Smith admitted that he would have approached the situation “very differently” if he had the knowledge he has now, saying, “I can see where I made the set very difficult for Janet.”
Scroll down to find everything past and current Bel-Air: The Fresh Prince stars have said about Smith’s altercation:
