Here's Who Consoled Chris Rock After The Will Smith Incident
The biggest story of the 2022 Academy Awards was undoubtedly Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the face. As Variety reported, the actor stormed the stage after Rock made an inappropriate joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith. The "Girls Trip" star has been rocking a shaved head due to her well-documented struggles with alopecia. However, Rock quipped that she was getting ready to appear in "G.I. Jane 2," much to Pinkett-Smith's evident annoyance. After striking the comedian, Smith yelled from his seat to "keep my wife's name out of your f****** mouth!" while a visibly stunned Rock stumbled over his words, before continuing on to present the award for best documentary.
The LAPD confirmed Rock would not be pressing charges against Smith for assaulting him, though he reserves the right to do so in the future. Per The Guardian, the "King Richard" star apologized for his behavior while accepting the award for best actor, acknowledging that his famous buddy, and fellow nominee, Denzel Washington had calmed him down backstage. Smith subsequently released a stronger public apology, noting, "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive." Describing his behavior as "inexcusable," the actor explained, "A joke about Jada's medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally."
Smith added, "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong." Washington was on hand to help Smith but, thankfully, Rock had some famous friends in his corner too.
Chris Rock's celebrity friends rallied around him
As Us Weekly points out, Will Smith was comforted following his emotional outburst on stage at the 2022 Oscars by famous friends Denzel Washington — who Smith acknowledged in his best actor acceptance speech — and Tyler Perry, both of whom had a chat with him during the commercial break. Fellow actor Bradley Cooper also made a point of embracing Smith and consoling him, as various A-listers looked on. However, Chris Rock was just as well supported.
An insider told Page Six that fellow comedians Wanda Sykes and Sacha Baron Cohen made sure he was okay during a starry after-party, at music manager Guy Oseary's mansion. "Chris was very calm, there was a lot of love for him at that party," the onlooker shared. "Wanda Sykes was his wingman for the night. He was sitting at Guy's dining table, and people lined up to console him and offer support."
Likewise, actor Woody Harrelson, and Cohen, stopped by to let Rock know "that what happened was completely wrong." The slap heard around the world was unsurprisingly "the talk of the party," though Rock appeared unperturbed, hanging out and posing for pics with everybody late into the night. Smith, luckily, was at the Vanity Fair event, though a second source revealed there was "some concern that [he] would show up."
Sean "Diddy" Combs made it clear to the outlet that the duo had cleared the air privately, though, confirming, "It's all love. They're brothers."