The Oscars 2022 will go down in history as one of the most memorable Academy Awards nights because of the drama surrounding Will Smith and Chris Rock. And now it’s the topic of conversation on the internet.
For the uninitiated, the Oscars Slapgate (yep, it’s officially one of the major scandals) erupted after Chris Rock made a GI Jane comment at the expense of Jada Pinkett Smith. As he entered the stage, Oscar presenter Chris Rock made an impromptu joke about the actor’s shaved head, which she has due to alopecia.
“Jada, I love you, can’t wait for GI Jane 2,” he said, referring to the 1990s film in which Demi Moore plays a Navy SEAL with a buzzcut. A few moments later, Will Smith got on stage and struck Chris in the face for making comments about his wife.
In case you missed Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars for making fun of his wife Jada’s health condition pic.twitter.com/HGJsB6xhfX
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) March 28, 2022
Unsurprisingly, social media users set about digging up dirt on Smith and found a 1991 clip of the actor making fun of a bald man. During his appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show, Will mocked the bald bassist in the house band.
“He gotta wax his head every morning.” Now this is a video of Will Smith saying a joke about someone with Alopecia.
— Three Crosses (@Peter_OKH) March 28, 2022
One reason I love the internet, it never forgets. pic.twitter.com/4OGlgSrcjA
The RollingStone reached out to John B Williams, a well-known double bassist and bass guitarist, after the Oscars controversy and he shared his reaction in an interview.
I didn’t take it seriously. He was a comedian. He was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He was a rapper. I took it as a joke. I laughed it off.
-Williams to .
Meanwhile, here’s how the Twitter users are reacting to the viral clip.
In context: this was 31 years ago when Will Smith was 22. Trying to equivocate a 22 year old (we were all dumb, all of us) versus someone in their 50s, knowing full well Jada has been public about this, is silly.
— Nick (@FFCNicholas) March 29, 2022
So you’re really comparing 20 something year old Will to a 50 plus years old Chris Rock? There are things that I thought were okay to say when I was young and naive, I Know better now, Chris should’ve known better.
— #Mvuleni (@peacewifself2) March 28, 2022
He was like 22 in this 😭 he was wrong but this shit is mad old
— brown boy (@alpacartofficia) March 28, 2022
Where in this clip did you get that the man had Alopecia? This is a false equivalency. Sorry.
— TK (@HeartTret) March 29, 2022
I mean this was the fresh prince. He was a kid not a grown ass adult. Will only got mad after seeing Jada’s expression
— Oshee (@Oshee45) March 28, 2022
In fairness he’s said if the joke was at his expense he takes it but he’s reacted as it’s his wife so the comparison is pointless
— Peter Adam (@petera1872) March 29, 2022
This is actually worse than the G.I Jane joke imo
— Oseite (@BenOshior) March 28, 2022
The ghosts of the past never seem to leave you, especially in this day and age of social media.