Will Smith, the actor of King Richard, posted an apologetic video for Chris Rock on Friday, July 29. The lengthy, nearly six-minute apology from Smith came four months after their widely publicised confrontation at the 94th Academy Awards with Rock.
After Rock made a joke about Jada’s shaved head, Will Smith, 53, punched the comedian and verbally insulted him during the live Oscars broadcast in 2022.
While many viewers praised Will Smith for his apology video, others questioned whether Rock had actually expressed regret to Jada Pinkett Smith over the contentious “GI Jane” joke regarding her shaved head.
No part of me believes that was the appropriate course of action at the time
When the joke was made, Chris Rock was found to have been ignorant of Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, which is the reason for her hair loss. The 57-year-old comedian has brought up the incident numerous times throughout his performances since since, but he hasn’t officially apologised to Pinkett Smith for making fun of her medical condition.
After Will Smith’s apologetic video, internet users disagreed on whether Chris Rock should apologise to Jada Pinkett Smith.
As was already said, multiple tweets have emphasised that Rock has not yet publicly and sincere apologised to Pinkett Smith for the offensive remark that sparked the entire controversy. The number of likes on these tweets show how many people believe Rock should also apologise. The other side of the internet, on the other hand, defended Rock and insisted that the joke wasn’t all that serious.
Look at the conflicting responses
@Nettaaaaaaaa When did people start to believe that alopecia is a terrible disease? It is merely balding, that is all. No other negative health impacts. Almost everyone experiences it at some point in their life. She is not in a hospital dying; she is balding.
Rock’s supporters have argued that he shouldn’t have to apologise because the comedian was not aware of Pinkett Smith’s medical condition, which led her to shave her head. Some tweets even claimed that alopecia is not a particularly serious ailment in the interim. Finally, a few people made the claim that if Rock had to apologise to Jada, then every comedian would have to retract jokes that made fun of others.
There has been a lot of discussion over whether Jada Pinkett Smith started the brawl at the Oscars 2022 in late March. According to the allegations, Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes at Rock’s remark and then requested her husband to address it.
Will Smith denied these assertions in the apologetic video and said Jada hadn’t asked him to do anything at the time. He stated:
“I made a decision on my own, based on my personal experiences and my relationships with Chris. Jada was unrelated to it.” Chris Rock seems to address the apology video from Will Smith.
According to CNN, Chris Rock appeared to have addressed Will Smith’s apologetic video while performing stand-up comedy in Atlanta on Friday, July 29. Just hours after the apology, the comedian took the stage as part of his Chris Rock Ego Death World Tour.
Rock spoke the following to the crowd while he performed
“Everyone is making an effort to act like a victim. If everyone declares themselves a victim, the actual victims won’t be heard. Even I got hit by Suge Smith… My kids and I went to work the following day.”
Later, Chris Rock reportedly told the same joke he just told during his stand-up routine at the PNC Bank Arts Center. The funnyman joked:
“Anyone who claims that words hurt has never received a face punch.”