For those of you who aren't in the know, Will Smith, who would later win Best Actor for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard, made plenty of headlines when he slapped Oscars presenter Chris Rock over a joke he made about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. In light of all that's happened, everyone, most notably Jada herself, regrets all that transpired on that eventful night.
This is the first story surrounding primarily Jada Pinkett Smith herself since the Oscars slap happened. Most of the stories that have come out since the slap happened have been concerning both the immediate ramifications of what would happen to Will Smith's career and how Rock was going to respond to what Smith did to him. For some reason, it's fallen under the radar that this all transpired because Will Smith was defending his wife's honor (not that any of that is her fault).
According to US weekly, Jada Pinkett Smith is "not angry" with her husband over what happened between Rock and her husband, but "wishes he didn't" slap Rock across the face. Everyone acknowledged Will Smith's lapse in judgment that night. According to the source, “It was in the heat of the moment, and it was him overreacting. He knows that, she knows that. They’re in agreement that he overreacted.” To be perfectly honest, calling it an overreaction might be understating it in this case.
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Now that it's been confirmed that she too believed Will Smith's actions were an overreaction, one may wonder why she didn't try to stop him when he walked all the way up on stage to slap Rock across the face. She had ample opportunity to do that given the distance between where they were sitting and the stage, and she didn't. Then again, maybe she didn't think Will Smith was going to do anything drastic when he approached Rock. We've seen actors previously offended by what other actors have said about them handle that in either a more private or professional manner.
Granted, Will Smith's actions definitely deserve consequences, but this really shouldn't harm his career long-term. What he did was wrong, and no one should say otherwise. With that in mind, it's probably in Smith's best interest to stay out of the public eye for a time while this is still fresh on everyone's minds. Fortunately, bad PR, as long as it doesn't concern unforgivable actions, comes in waves that eventually settle down. Nothing heals wounds better than time itself, so when the public is over it, Will Smith's career should be fine.
What everyone should want to come out of this situation is that Will Smith's actions not be encouraged nor repeated. Rock was not trying to offend anyone when he made his joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's new hairstyle. He even said himself that if he knew it was because of a medical condition, he probably wouldn't have made it in the first place. Will Smith has acknowledged that what he did that night was wrong and apologized to Rock and everyone else for what he did. Resorting to violence over a joke has never been justified, and hopefully, it never will be.
King Richard can currently be watched on HBO Max.
Source: US Weekly