Refresh for updates…: “Now we have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters,” says Kathy Griffin. “Jokes are what Chris Rock does,” tweets Mia Farrow. “And That’s How We Do It,” brags Jaden Smith.
Reactions to the slap that stunned the Oscars — when Will Smith bounded on stage to smack comedian Chris Rock over a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, are, to put it mildly, all over the place, with most seeming to come down decidedly for, as one comedian puts it, Team Rock.
“Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers,” tweeted Mark Hamill. “Violent physical assault… not so much.” He included the hashtag “UgliestOscarMomentEver”.
“Ummm… Whaaaat!??,” writes Dan Bucatinsky. “He justified his assault using tears and the word ‘love’…the one thing he did NOT do is apologize for slapping Chris Rock!!”
Speaking on the Vanity Fair after party red carpet, Sean Combs, who had presented an award on the telecast just following the incident, said he was “shocked” but thought it was “important to bring love into the room. I think we know both of those guys’ characters and sometimes shit happens.”
Deadline will add more reactions as they arrive.
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Welp…I said it wouldn’t be boring #Oscars
— Will Packer (@willpowerpacker) March 28, 2022
Ok so who I gotta slap to get an Oscar?😜😜
— Diane Warren (@Diane_Warren) March 28, 2022
Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers.
Violent physical assault… not so much.#UgliestOscarMoment_Ever pic.twitter.com/enUimEoLV6— Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill) March 28, 2022
so upsetting – on every level – bravo to Chris Rock – for not eviscerating will smith – which he could do any day of the week – he walked away – bravo from a sad display of toxic masculinity from a narcissistic madman #Oscars2022 #chrisROCK
— ROSIE (@Rosie) March 28, 2022
Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bullshit.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) March 28, 2022
I’m tripping that you can assault someone on live television on stage at the Oscars and just take your seat and watch the rest of the show.
— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 28, 2022
What a sad commentary when you slap the crap out of someone on live TV, win an Oscar, get a standing ovation and then accept that Oscar talking about “love”. There was so much wrong about this moment. #Oscars2022 pic.twitter.com/D5iVIpqYiQ
— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) March 28, 2022
If you're a big enough star you can slap someone on live TV and casually sit down. Enjoy the rest of the ceremony. Win an award. Get a standing ovation. Kinda apologize but not really. Get another standing ovation and then have people defend you. America is amazing. #Oscars
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) March 28, 2022
We should never get to a place where we sit and watch a movie star hit someone on global television then, moments later, get a standing ovation while talking about love. #WillSmith #Oscars
— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) March 28, 2022
Anyone else need therapy after watching The Oscars? I’m not even joking.
— Matt Lucas (@RealMattLucas) March 28, 2022
This Will Smith thing is about to be a #TwoAmericas situation
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) March 28, 2022
Why didn’t @TheAcademy have Will Smith escorted by security out after he assaulted Chris Rock?
Instead, they gave him an #Oscar and allowed him to scapegoat his actions.
— David Leavitt 🔜 PAX EAST (@David_Leavitt) March 28, 2022
So it wasn’t staged and Chris Rock could press charges against Will Smith and probably sue his dumb ass! Wow! So surreal! https://t.co/ZTPP4GKpnG
— Tommy Chong (@tommychong) March 28, 2022
All of us who have had nice careers are lucky.
None of us are lucky enough to punch out a joke. I understand but we can’t. It is against the law. No matter how many 40s films we have seen— Treat Williams (@Rtreatwilliams) March 28, 2022
I know the big story is the slap, but congratulations to @amyschumer @iamwandasykes & Regina Hall who were very funny – I hope that isn't overshadowed by the unpleasantness #Oscars
— Jimmy Kimmel (@jimmykimmel) March 28, 2022
Just saw the Will Smith slap. Anyone have a late night show I can borrow just for tomorrow?
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) March 28, 2022
As usual, when it comes time to hand out the documentary Oscar, all hell breaks loose.
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) March 28, 2022
If @willsmith seriously did that — and he wins the OSCAR — he just stained the greatest moment of his career. You cannot do that S$&@!!Especially as a BLACK MAN, in that position, to ANOTHER BLACK MAN(@chrisrock) on THAT STAGE. If this was not a joke, Will won’t live this down!!!
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) March 28, 2022
Hey professional comedians: be on notice! From now on, you need to make sure your jokes don’t offend people. Especially extremely attractive, famous and exorbitantly wealthy people!
— Richard Marx (@richardmarx) March 28, 2022
Somebody in #willsmith’s circle needs to tell him that there is no way what he did tonight won’t result in a comedian somewhere getting beat up or killed. He green lit a lot of violence.
There’s gonna need to be a lot of clean up.
— Hal Sparks (@HalSparks) March 28, 2022
This really felt like childhood for a lot of us. Someone we love abruptly became violent and then just as abruptly acted like everything was okay and we all were supposed to act like everything was okay and this was the birth of our anxiety disorder.
— Krista Vernoff (@KristaVernoff) March 28, 2022
And That’s How We Do It
— Jaden (@jaden) March 28, 2022
It was just a joke. Jokes are what Chris Rock does. Always has been edgy. This was a mild joke for him. And i love GI Jane
— Mia Farrow (@MiaFarrow) March 28, 2022
Let me tell you something, it’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian.
Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.— Kathy Griffin (@kathygriffin) March 28, 2022
Will Smith laughs at the joke. Laughed at it. Then, in 3 seconds, he’s so full of uncontrollable rage that he needs to ‘protect his family’. Entitled child man. Team Chris Rock. Always. pic.twitter.com/Cd8VWlXbNF
— Pete Zedlacher (@zedlacher) March 28, 2022
.#WillSmith was laughing at the joke. What he did next was the act of a narcissist. It was performative. It was beyond classless. And it was a violent assault. Violence can NEVER be excused or tolerated… #ChrisRock #Oscars
— Andy Ostroy (@AndyOstroy) March 28, 2022
Violence isn’t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia. Punching down at someone’s auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather.
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) March 28, 2022
Ummm… Whaaaat!?? He justified his assault using tears and the word “love”.
the one thing he did NOT do is apologize for slapping Chris Rock!! https://t.co/FVyUOJ3v3A— Dan Bucatinsky (@danbucatinsky) March 28, 2022
I call upon the Academy, of which I am a member, to take disciplinary action against Will Smith. He disgraced our entire community tonight.
— Marshall Herskovitz (@MHerskovitz) March 28, 2022
Lol so public assault is the answer to an insensitive joke in 2022??! Good to know. I’ll be doing my next Netflix special over Zoom.
— London Hughes (@TheLondonHughes) March 28, 2022
For people asking if her alopecia is public knowledge? Yes. She 1st spoke about it in 2018. She’s been open about it since & the Smiths/Rock have a long-overlapping circle.
Hitting him was not okay. AND his “joke” was cruel & personal. All of it, awful. https://t.co/Y7P4v6UyCy
— Sophia Bush (@SophiaBush) March 28, 2022
Every comedian should post a Will Smith joke in solidarity with Chris Rock. I’m not. But every other comedian should.
— the lucas bros (@lucasbros) March 28, 2022
I’m not trying to get slapped
— the lucas bros (@lucasbros) March 28, 2022
“Keep Paul Walkers name out of your fucking mouth” – Vin Diesel standing over my bloody body at next years Peoples Choice Awards
— adam pally (@adampally) March 28, 2022
All of us who have had nice careers are lucky.
None of us are lucky enough to punch out a joke. I understand but we can’t. It is against the law. No matter how many 40s films we have seen— Treat Williams (@Rtreatwilliams) March 28, 2022
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