Chris Rock Insulted Jada Pinkett Smith Years Before the Oscars 2022
The Oscars 2022 showed Chris Rock and Will Smith getting into a physical altercation over Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia. Rock joked that Pinkett Smith could star in the next G.I. Jane movie due to her hair — and that’s when Smith went on stage to smack Rock. But this wasn’t the first time that Rock insulted Pinkett Smith.
Prior to Will Smith and Chris Rock’s Oscars 2022 debacle, Chris Rock insulted Jada Pinkett Smith
Will Smith and Chris Rock’s Oscars 2022 physical altercation will forever live in live TV infamy. Chris Rock’s G.I. Jane joke was a direct insult to Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, which she’s been vocal about on social media. But this wasn’t the first time the comedian threw shade at Will Smith’s wife.
So, what did Chris Rock say about Jada Pinkett Smith in the past? Pinkett Smith boycotted the Oscars in the past due to the lack of diversity of the nominees. To that, Rock made fun of the situation with a joke.
“Jada said she’s not coming,” Rock said, according to Us Weekly. “I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!”
What year did Jada Pinkett Smith boycott the Oscars? She wasn’t the only one
What year did Jada Pinkett Smith boycott the Oscars? It was back in 2016 — and she wasn’t the only one. While Chris Rock’s joke was only toward Pinkett Smith, The Independent reports Will Smith also didn’t attend, along with Spike Lee, and British singer Anohni.
Pinkett Smith talked about her boycott via Facebook, the publication notes. “Today is Martin Luther King’s birthday, and I can’t help but ask the question: Is it time that people of color recognize how much power, influence, that we have amassed, that we no longer need to ask to be invited anywhere?” she noted. “Begging for acknowledgement, or even asking, diminishes dignity and diminishes power. And we are a dignified people, and we are powerful. So let’s let the Academy do them, with all grace and love. And let’s do us, differently.”
Smith chose to stand with his wife in her decision, too. “It would be awkward to show up with Charlize [Theron],” he noted separately in an interview. “We’ve discussed it …. We’re part of this community. But at this current time, we’re uncomfortable to stand there and say this is OK.”
How she responded to Chris Rock’s 2016 dig
After Chris Rock’s dig, Jada Pinkett Smith responded. “It comes with the territory, sweetheart,” she told X17, according to Us Weekly. “Hey, look, it comes with the territory, but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. There’s a lot of stuff we gotta handle, a lot of stuff in our world right now. We gotta keep it moving.”
Jada Pinkett Smith hasn’t made any official statements just yet about the Oscars 2022 situation between Will Smith and Chris Rock. But Smith referenced what occurred during his acceptance speech for winning Best Actor for King Richard.
“I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” Smith said during his speech, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me, it’s about being able to shine a lot on all the people … I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams! But, love will make you do crazy things.
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