Will Smith Talks with Bradley Cooper and Denzel Washington After Smacking Chris Rock at Oscars
Tyler Perry also spoke with the Best Actor winner after Smith punched Rock following a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, made by the comedian.
Bradley Cooper, Tyler Perry, and Denzel Washington were all spotted conferring with Chris Rock after Will Smith assaulted him on the 94th Academy Awards stage on Sunday night.
Cooper, 47, put his hand on Smith’s shoulder, while the actor-rapper, 53, had his hand softly on Cooper’s waist, according to photographs from the Dolby Theatre.
Cooper and Smith hugged at the end of their conversation.
Perry and Washington also spoke with Smith, who whacked comedian Chris Rock, 57, when the comedian joked about seeing Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, in a G.I. Jane 2 sequel. Pinkett Smith, 50, has been sporting a bald head since she was diagnosed with alopecia, an inflammatory disease that damages hair follicles, causing bald spots and hair loss.
Smith began to giggle from his seat, while Pinkett Smith expressed her displeasure.
The Best Actor winner then stepped up to the platform and smacked Rock in the face, later apologizing to the academy and the other nominees in his victory speech.
As Smith sat down again, a surprised Rock said, “Oh my goodness. Will Smith just whacked me across the face.”
Smith did not find the scenario amusing.
In a scene edited by ABC in the US broadcast, he yelled at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f——— lips!”
“Wow, guy,” Rock said, “it was a G.I. Jane joke!” Smith snapped, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f——— mouth!”
Wanda Sykes, the Oscars host, teases a ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’ night with co-hosts Amy Schumer and Regina Hall in this video.
While Cooper, Perry, and Washington took turns consulting with Smith, Rock continued to give the award for Best Documentary Feature.
Washington “did not recognize Chris Rock,” according to a source, but instead “spoke something to Will and went back to his seat.”
The onlooker claimed, “Everyone in the mezzanine was rising up to see what was going on – everyone was astonished.” “The sound of a pin dropping could be heard. Everyone was staring at each other, as if to say, ‘Is this really happening?’ Chris Rock was taken aback.”
Smith and Pinkett Smith held hands over the bistro table between their seats at the front of the theater after allowing the moment to breathe.
“At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you,” Washington urged Smith later in his winning speech.
The 2022 Academy Awards will be broadcast on ABC on Sunday from Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre.
Source: people.com