After Will Smith jumped up to defend his wife Jada Pinkett Smith‘s honor by smacking Chris Rock across the face on live TV during the 2022 Academy Awards Sunday (March 27), the couple’s 23-year-old son, Jaden, tweeted what appeared to be his response to the shocking moment a few hours later.
“And That’s How We Do It,” Jaden wrote shortly after the broadcast ended. While it was not clear at press time if the singer was directly responding to his father’s actions during the broadcast, the shocking incident drew immediately, visceral reaction from some of Rock’s fellow comedians.
Kathy Griffin, who is used to ruffling feathers with her pointed jokes, expressed her concern a number of stand-ups had, writing, “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.”
Rosie O’Donnell said it was “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.”
The LAPD said that Rock declined to press charges against Smith, who rushed onto the stage after the comedian came out and did a few introductory jokes while presenting the award for best documentary feature. Following some playful jabs at celebs in the audience, including Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Denzel Washington, Rock said, “Jada, I love you, G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” seemingly referring to the actress’s bald head. Pinkett Smith previously opened up about living with alopecia — an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss — in 2018, and more recently in a December Instagram video.
Though Smith seemed to laugh at first, the actress frowned and did not seem amused. The King Richard actor then jumped up from his seat and walked briskly onto the stage in what seemed at first to be a planned comedic bit. But after Smith appeared to angrily slap Rock in the face, the stunned-looking comedian stammered a bit, then remarked, “Will Smith just smacked the s–t out of me.” That was followed by a long silence on the live broadcast in which the actor repeatedly demanded that the comedian “keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth.” Unedited international broadcasts of the incident provided the heated audio in full.
At press time, it did not appear that Rock or the Smiths had commented publicly on the incident. Shortly after the incident, however, The Academy issued a brief statement regarding the matter. “The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” the organization tweeted. “Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
Smith won the best actor award shortly after the onstage incident for his work was the Williams family patriarch in King Richard, tearfully apologizing to the Academy and his fellow nominees, but not Rock.
See Jaden’s tweet below.
And That’s How We Do It
— Jaden (@jaden) March 28, 2022
