This year’s Oscars made much noise, not only because of the golden trophies or glamourous presence of the eminent celebrities but also because of Will Smith’s slap gate incident with Chris Rock.
“The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith”: Chris Rock
Despite Smith apologizing to Chris for slapping him on stage during the ceremony, it appears that it wasn’t enough for him. The Spiral actor is still not ready to forget about the incident. This is because Rock was reportedly asked to host the prestigious Academy Awards, but the actor declined it. Moreover, he compared returning to the 2023 Oscars to coming back to the scene of a crime. He reportedly made this revelation during a standup comedy show on Sunday. He also made a reference to OJ Simpson, who was alleged to have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson.
The report added that after the crowd requested Rock to “Talk about it,” the actor while referencing Smith playing late boxer Muhammed Ali in a film said that the slap from Smith hurt. The Arizona Republic quoted Rock as saying, “He’s bigger than me. The state of Nevada would not sanction a fight between me and Will Smith.”
What was the slap gate incident?
Rock’s apprehension is understandable after what happened at this year’s ceremony in March earlier this year. Rock was invited to the stage to present an award. In his bit, he joked about Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. While referring to Jada, Rock said he can’t wait to see ‘G.I. Jane’ 2. ‘G.I. Jane’ was a 1997 war movie that had Demi Moore’s protagonist, a female Navy Seal, shaving her head. The joke seemingly targeted Jada’s lack of hair, which is due to the alopecia condition. At first, Smith appeared to laugh, but after looking at his wife’s eyes roll, he walked up to the stage and attacked Rock.