Will Smith shockingly slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.
The attack sparked backlash, with many people slamming the actor’s hypocrisy for letting him stay in Dolbey Theater before he received his gong for Best Actor for his King Richard role.
His outburst led to backlash from viewers and on the Today show, host Craig Melvin criticized the actor for aiding “this long-held perception that men of color can’ control their rage and anger.”
“It was really disappointing,” Melvin said.
“If you’re rearing a boy, especially in this country, you spend so much time talking to our kids about keeping your hands to yourself and this long health perception that man of color can’t control their rage and their anger and to see someone who’s been that beloved for decades – it was troubling on so many levels.”
The View co-hosts Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin also slammed Smith and called his outburst ‘immature and childish.’
However, co-host Whoopi Goldberg has a different opinion.
“I think he overreacted…I think he had one of those moments where it was like G.D. it, just stop,” Goldberg said.
“I get it, not everybody acts the way we would like them to act under pressure. And he snapped.”
Co-host Tom Llamas also said that there is “so much more to this story.”
“I agree with you about the violence you’re 100% right, but Will Smith and his wife had been the butt of so many jokes for the last year and I wonder how much of that was there too just bubbling.”
“As you said it’s never about the thing,” Melvin added.
Whoopi pointed out that the couple have been the butt of jokes for many years.
“I think it was a lot of stuff probably built up,” Whoopi explained.
“Sometimes you get to a point when you behave badly. I myself have behaved badly on occasion.”
Co-host Navarro said that Rock’s joke about Jada’s bald head was in ‘poor taste,’ and explained that she has alopecia.
“She’s been very public about it, very vulnerable about it, but nothing, nada condones violence at this point. Nada.”
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