Last night, Will Smith shocked the world when he went on stage and slapped Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars. Moments prior to the incident, Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith in regards to her short haircut — the “Red Table Talk” host has been public about her battle with alopecia over the past few years.
Since then, hip hop peers, fellow actors, fans, and critics have responded to what happened both on social media and in front of cameras during the events following the awards ceremony. While many support Smith for defending his wife, others have criticized the multi-talent for the on-stage attack. One person who is definitely standing behind him is son Jaden Smith, who appeared to make a simple-yet-definitive statement on his Twitter account:
“And That’s How We Do It”
Outside of the slap seen and heard around the world, the main highlight for Smith was winning an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for the film King Richard. Released last year, King Richard saw Smith playing as Richard Williams, the father of and coach for tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, with support from Aunjanue Ellis, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Tony Goldwyn, and Jon Bernthal. According to some reports, Smith could be in danger of losing his Oscar due to the aforementioned controversy. While this hasn’t been confirmed by the Academy, they did tweet a somewhat cryptic message in regards to the situation:
“The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
Given the fact that Smith had since been seen partying with his trophy at an awards after-party, it’s safe to say that the first-time winner isn’t too concerned.
Check out Jaden‘s tweet below, along with a couple of pictures showing the Smith family celebrating the win.