“I ain’t saying he should’ve killed her—but I understand!” – Chris Rock in Bring The Pain (1996).

Of course, Rock was talking about O.J. Simpson “allegedly” killing his wife, so obviously, there’s no comparing that situation to Will Smith going full “West Philadelphia, born and raised” on Rock’s face during Sunday night’s Oscars 2022 ceremony. Although, it would have been damn hilarious if instead of smacking him, Will ran up on stage and shook the sh** out of Chris.

Now, when it comes to the subject of Chris getting Rocked in his face, I’m pretty indifferent about the rights and wrongs of it. Maybe Smith shouldn’t have rocked his Bel-Airs. Maybe it wasn’t the time for Will to start giving us his best Ali performance to date. But “talk sh**, get hit” is very much a thing in this here Black community and Will has long made it clear that, entanglements be damned, he does not play about his wife.

And Rock’s joke was bad. Even if it wasn’t tasteless, it would have been sale and unfunny. I mean, G.I. Jane, my guy? If you’re going to let yourself get Suge Knighted in front of a live audience, don’t let it be over a dated reference like that.

Anyway, some have suggested that maybe Rock didn’t know about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia condition. Sure, she announced it to the world via Instagram, but maybe Rock isn’t one of those celebrities that follows celebrities like that. If he knew about it, there would be no doubt that he would have deserved Will making his cheek match the color of a Red Table Talk, but maybe he didn’t know. However, he knows the relationship between Black women and their hair (he did a whole documentary about it). And he should have known that when a Black woman who has always had hair is suddenly bald and he doesn’t know why—maybe keep the jokes about it in the drafts, bro. 

Plus, let’s be real—Will has probably about had it with all the jokes and negativity surrounding his family and his marriage. Rock’s not-so-wise crack may have just been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. 

Again, I’m not invested in the debate about whether Smith was in the wrong because n***** catch hands for saying the wrong thing every day, B—but how would you have reacted if a close family member had a condition and someone, who may or may not have known, made a joke about how they looked due to said condition?

If it was some random Republican making a smart remark about Rep. Ayanna Pressley and her alopecia, most of us would have been OK about them catching the fade. (Speaking of which, it turns out Pressley tweeted then deleted a post praising Smith for what he did.)

Either way, the fine folks on Twitter appear to be pretty split on whether the slap heard around the world was justified.

In all fairness, Chris Rock should never, ever joke about somebody’s health condition! What a clown! I’d hope that if my fiancé was in the same position, he’d be like Will! Probably not the best idea to hit someone at the Oscars in front of millions of people, but he’s just human

— Hevs (@IMO_Wales) March 28, 2022

In a world where celebrities think they can say anything they want, Will stood up. He stood up for his wife after seeing the hurt in her eyes while she was holding back the tears. This wasn’t a Comedy Central roast!! This was A VERY ADMIRABLE response by one of the GREATEST!!!

— CadmiumHeart (@Cadmium_Heart) March 28, 2022

No will Smith will be remembered as a man who defended his wife . The same way I would we took an oath to love and protect are wives always her hair might bother her .I would give my life defending my wife’s honor . Feel bad for yours if you won’t do the same . Love and cherish

— John Trerotola (@jtrerotola17) March 28, 2022

Awful lessons from the Oscars.

After Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock, he received applause. A-list celebs rushed over to comfort him. He was then invited onstage to receive an Oscar, and used his speech to justify his behavior— ‘love made him do it.’

None of this was okay.

— Dr. David A. Lustig (@drdave1999) March 28, 2022

You know what? I appreciate Will Smith’s decision. Chris Rock deserved it #Oscar2022 #Oscar #WillSmith pic.twitter.com/gJyO8EYwSF

— ✰ŁU₡ł₣EƦ (@IAmluciifer7) March 28, 2022

Some people pointed out that while Jada’s face made it clear she wasn’t here for Rock’s joke, Will was laughing at it himself at first.

will smith laughing at chris rock’s joke then quickly taking her defense when he saw her reaction pic.twitter.com/jJG8AeUUWR

— laura (@gloomymfs) March 28, 2022

I don’t care if his wife suffers from alopecia or not. He laughed at the joke himself. The fact that there are people defending him is actually outrageous. Chris Rock got the whole room laughing, Will Smith got the whole room cringing. #Oscar pic.twitter.com/GkqNEsNIdR

— (@Sultxnnnnn) March 28, 2022

Now, there are a number of reasons Will could have been laughing. It could have been residual laughter from Rock’s last joke. He might not have heard clearly what Rock said and was just laughing to be polite. Maybe it was nervous laughter.

Or maybe he saw his wife’s reaction and knew he had to get right real quick and do something in favor of her honor.

Maybe he overreacted, maybe he didn’t. People are going to feel however they’re going to feel about that.

Me? I’m just here for the jokes and memes.

Andrew Garfield texting the other Peter Parkers to see if Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in their universes too pic.twitter.com/k4lIi6S73e

— S̷h̷e̷i̷k̷h̷ D̷a̷n̷i̷y̷a̷l̷ (@SheikhDaniyaI24) March 28, 2022

Everyone arriving at Twitter to confirm Will Smith really did slap Chris Rock at #TheOscars2022 pic.twitter.com/LSLNJajH92

— Darren (@Darren94775262) March 28, 2022

The camera man when Will Smith smacked Chris Rock #Oscars #ChrisRock #WillAndChris pic.twitter.com/Y4gBGoHFRi

— AB (@theyloveAB) March 28, 2022

Everyone who laughed at chris rock joke after he got smacked by will smith#Oscars      #Oscar2022 pic.twitter.com/yCJ6Z6EwYN

— voIta (@1973moscow) March 28, 2022

 

 

I love the memes about will smith and chris rock so much pic.twitter.com/JQlUbhXtqf

— sneha(aqqu x smarty’s Stan) (@seekingdalightt) March 28, 2022

Will Smith and Chris Rock memes already out and its Monday pic.twitter.com/vFJvfuKxvA

— Wanjiku (@wanjikunash) March 28, 2022

The Will Smith and Chris Rock memes are everywhere

And I am happy to just keep contributing#Oscars pic.twitter.com/j5CXXcDPoK

— TRAFON(s Backup Account) (@RiseFallNickBck) March 28, 2022

I will say this though: A few people have pointed out that if Chris Rock was The Rock, Will would have stayed in his seat.

Three observations from the Oscars last night:

1) Chris Rock can take a punch

2) Will Smith can’t take a joke, unless it’s about his open marriage

3) If Chris Rock looked like Dwane Johnson, Will Smith never would have left his seat. Fact.#ChrisRockvsWillsmith pic.twitter.com/VjVLE5cNhe

— ZukiRex^2 (@2Zukirex) March 28, 2022

I mean, anybody can square up on a skinny 57-year-old Chris Rock. But Will would’ve just had to be satisfied with having mind control over Debo.

So how do y’all feel about it? Team Will or Team Chris?

SEE ALSO:

‘Will Smith Just Smacked The Sh*t Outta Me’: Chris Rock’s Uncensored Audio Revealed After Getting Slapped At The Oscars

The Oscars Still So White Despite Efforts To Diversify Hollywood