Leslie Jones Shares Insights on Will Smith’s Oscars Slap and Chris Rock’s Response

Comedian and actress Leslie Jones recently shared her perspective on the shocking incident that took place at the March 2022 Oscars ceremony when Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock. Jones, a longtime friend of Rock, expressed her thoughts on the matter and suggested how Smith could have handled the situation differently.

During the Oscars ceremony, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, before presenting an award. Rock’s joke seemed to reference Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, a result of her alopecia. In response, Smith took the stage and slapped Rock, shouting, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”

While Smith did offer apologies to the Academy and his fellow nominees in his acceptance speech, he stopped short of directly apologizing to Rock. The incident led to Smith resigning from the Academy and receiving a 10-year ban from Academy events. However, he remained eligible for future Oscar nominations and retained the Oscar he won during the 2022 ceremony.

Jones expressed her viewpoint on the incident, emphasizing that she was extremely angry about it. She believed that Smith could have “fixed” the situation that night when accepting his Oscar by saying something like, “I shouldn’t have done that. Bring Chris out. I cannot accept the Oscar right now because that was f***ing wrong.”

In addition to Jones’ comments, Chris Rock addressed the incident in his live Netflix special, “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage!” He accused Smith of practicing selective outrage and brought up personal matters, including rumors about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alleged affair with their son’s friend. Rock noted that the public had called Smith derogatory names in the aftermath of the incident.

Jones and Rock have been friends since the mid-1990s, and Rock even wrote the forward to her new memoir titled “Leslie F*cking Jones.” Jones referred to Rock as her brother and credited him with helping her successfully audition for “Saturday Night Live.”

The Oscars incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock continues to be a subject of discussion, with various perspectives and opinions on how it could have been handled differently.