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Will Smith and Chris Rock: Where Hollywood Stands After Oscars Altercation

Find out what stars like Henry Golding and Mira Sorvino thought about that confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

By Gabrielle Chung Mar 29, 2022 12:17 AMTags
Watch: Oscars 2022 After-Party: Henry Golding & More React to Will Smith

Hollywood is divided after Will Smith and Chris Rock's shocking altercation on the Oscars 2022 stage.

In an unscripted moment during the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, Smith got up from his seat and confronted Rock after the comedian, who was onstage to present the Oscar for Best Documentary, made a crack about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, the result of a years-long struggles with alopecia.

After Smith slapped Rock across the face, the King Richard star returned to his seat and yelled twice to the Saturday Night Live alum: "Keep my wife's name out of your f--king mouth!"

The audience at the Dolby Theatre fell silent, with many stars stunned at what unfolded before their eyes.

"'Shocking' is definitely a word a lot of people will be saying tonight," Henry Golding exclusively told E! News at the star-studded annual Vanity Fair Oscars after-party. "Low blows all around."

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The Crazy Rich Asians star added that he believes there's "a deeper story" to what sparked the heated moment between Smith and Rock, adding, "I'm sure Jada has some things that perhaps she's struggling with, and maybe it definitely has been a family...thing that they've been going through." 

 

 

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Meanwhile, fashion designer Donatella Versace "didn't like" the incident, explaining to E! News in a separate interview, "I think violence is not good."

As for Mira Sorvino, the Romy and Michele's High School Reunion actress said she felt things "went a little awry" after the jaw-dropping confrontation.

"You don't insult a person's wife, even as a joke," she exclusively shared with E! News. "I know it's the Oscars. I know comedians insult, but that's not right."

Many celebrities also expressed their opinions on social media. Drake appeared to throw his support for Smith by posting a picture of the actor smirking in his Genie costume from 2019's Aladdin on Instagram Story. Smith's son, Jaden Smith, also seemingly weighed in on the drama, tweeting on Oscars night, "And That's How We Do It."

Tiffany Haddish backed Smith, telling People at the Governor's Ball after-party that she "saw a Black man stand up for his wife" in the televised confrontation.

"That meant so much to me," she said. "As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, 'Keep my wife's name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,' that's what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you."

As for Rock, he seemed to get support after the Oscars when he was photographed sharing a laugh with Robert DeNiro and Woody Harrelson at Gucci's 14th annual "The Party," which celebrated the Academy Awards at the home of talent manager Guy Oseary.

As the night went on, everyone from Nicki Minaj to Kathy Griffin weighed in on the matter, regardless of whether or not they attended the show. Discussions even continued on Monday, when celebs including Nikki Glaser and Judd Apatow spoke out with their takes.

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Glaser called into SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show to defend Rock, saying she believes his joke about Pinkett Smith "was not a dig against her having alopecia." Speaking as a fellow comic, she continued about Rock, "He never would've made that joke had he known it was a medical condition that she had."

Apatow said he hopes the altercation "becomes a teachable moment where Will Smith can speak to people in an honest way about why that was not the way to go," he said during a March 28 episode of SiriusXM's The Dean Obeidallah Show.

In a tweetJana Kramer also condemned the "praising and enabling a cycle of a sick disease" in those who support the "violence" seen in the confrontation. She wrote, "When we start to rationalize, justify and defend this type of behavior, we will have consequences that we cannot even begin to fathom."

For more celebrity reactions to Smith and Rock's onstage altercation, click here.

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