The Twitter timeline is still exploding with reactions to Will Smith and Chris Rock’s altercation at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night (March 27). Rock attempted to make a joke at Jada Pinkett’s expense, calling her “G.I. Jane” due to her bald head. But either he didn’t get the memo or didn’t care about Pinkett’s alopecia, an autoimmune diseases that causes hair loss. The actress has been vocal about her struggles with the condition since 2018 when she revealed her diagnosis.
While many understood why Smith defended his wife, others thought it was in poor taste, especially on live television. But Nicki Minaj falls into the former category. On Monday morning (March 28), the self-described Black Barbie shared several tweets expressing her take on the situation.
“I love Chris Rock,” she began. “I don’t think he would’ve made that joke had he known what Jada recently shared- but between him & the whole team @ the #Oscars you mean to tell me not ONE of y’all heard this woman just share this heartbreaking story? #ComeOnSon … The husband gets a front row seat to his wife’s pain… he’s the 1 consoling her… drying her tears behind closed doors when those cameras go off. Social media has made ppl feel that these ‘husbands’ won’t ever run into them in real life.”
The second the G.I. Jane jab flew out of Chris Rock’s mouth, the look on Jada Pinkett’s face noticeably changed from happy to visibly offended. While Smith initially laughed, his wife’s look likely prompted him to march up to the stage and slap Rock across the face. Once back in his seat, he repeated, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” In an uncensored clip of the confrontation, Rock humbly replied, “I’m going to, OK?”
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Will Smith's 1st Oscar Could Possibly Be Stripped Over Chris Rock Incident
Nicki spoke about that moment in another tweet, writing, “You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a ‘little joke’ at her expense. This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. while y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain.”
She added, “Imagine what it must feel like to be losing your hair to the point where you have to shave it bald. You think that’s easy to deal with for anyone?” You don’t think she’s cried about that many times? 2022 y’all gon have to see these men about those jokes you made about their wives.”
Following the slap, Smith won an Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his work in King Richard, his first. While he didn’t directly apologize to Rock in his speech, he did express regret over causing a scene.
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“And I know to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse, you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta have people disrespecting you and you gotta smile and you gotta pretend that it’s ok …. I want to apologize to the Academy, I wanna apologize to all my fellow nominees.
“This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people … art imitates life. I look like the crazy father. Love will make you do crazy things.”
While Smith was able to collect his Oscar during the ceremony, there’s a chance he could have it stripped. The Academy of of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a strict policy that prohibits any kind of violence.
“It’s basically assault,” an insider told The New York Post. “Everyone was just so shocked in the room, it was so uncomfortable. I think Will would not want to give his Oscar back, but who knows what will happen now.”
