Will Smith left Oscar viewers stunned and speechless on Sunday night after he slapped Chris Rock following an off-color joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss, which is due to alopecia.
Hollywood stars quickly took to Twitter to call out Smith’s shocking attack, with comedian and director Judd Apatow calling the display ‘pure out of control rage and violence‘ and claiming that Smith ‘could have killed’ Rock.
‘Seems like Will Smith’s plan to get comedian and the world to not make jokes about him is not going to pan out. The Williams family must be furious. Pure narcissism,’ he wrote.
‘Also — GI Jane was gorgeous. What exactly is insulting about being compared to a ripped, stunning Demi?’ he wrote, referencing the Ridley Scott–directed Demi Moore-starring film.
Apatow strongly rejected a Twitter user who said they ‘understood’ why Smith hit Rock because of Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia.
‘He could have killed him. That’s pure out of control rage and violence. They’ve heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind,’ he wrote.
Rock, 57, appeared to have set off Smith — who is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard — by joking that the Matrix Resurrections actress was preparing to star in a sequel to G.I. Jane, a reference to her bald head.
‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth,’ Smith shouted from the audience after returning to his seat near the stage.
Kathy Griffin agreed with Apatow and called out Smith. She wasn’t having any of the rationalizations and defenses for his conduct, and she worried that his attack would embolden hecklers that regularly interrupt comedy shows.
‘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.’
