Will Smith And Chris Rock Have History That Goes Way Back

At the 94th Oscar award ceremony last night (27 March), Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.

Smith took to the Academy Award stage twice last night, once to slap Rock and again to collect his Best Actor Oscar for his part in King Richard.

While the altercation stunned viewers, the pair have a history.

Smith slapped Rock after he made an insensitive joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

The joke saw Rock say he was excited to see Pinkett Smith in the next G.I Jane film, a film in which Demi Moore famously donned a shaved head.

Many, including Smith, didn't like the joke. She revealed she suffers with alopecia back in 2018.

However, last night wasn't the pair's first interaction, as the Smiths and Rock go way back.

Smith and Rock first worked together on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air in 1995, when Rock had a guest spot, E!News reports.

Then, Pinkett Smith and Rock worked together on three Madagascar movies.

In a press round for Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted the pair were complementary towards each other.

"Hey, my kids listen to your kids!" Rock said, referring to the Smiths' daughter Willow's music career.

However, things seemed to turn somewhat when Rock hosted the 2016 Oscars.

Alamy

A number of stars boycotted the Oscars that year, with #OscarsSoWhite referencing the lack of nominees of colour, despite there being many talented performers, writers and technicians to choose from.

Pinkett Smith was among those who boycotted the event, which Rock referenced while hosting.

"What happened this year? People went nuts. Spike [Lee] got mad. Jada went mad. Will went mad. Everyone went mad!" the host said.

He then added: "Jada said she's not coming. I was like, 'Isn't she on a TV show?' Jada's gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited!"

Rock then also took aim at Smith, noting his snub for the film Concussion that year.

ABC

Rock said: "Her man Will was not nominated for Concussion. I get it. You get mad. It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated. You're right. It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West!"

So, Rock and the Smiths don't have the best Oscar's track record, but at the time Pinkett Smith shrugged off the comments, saying: "Hey look, it comes with the territory but we gotta keep it moving."

However, the comments Rock made last night missed the mark entirely, with Pinkett Smith having opened up about being diagnosed with alopecia and embracing her hair loss.

Rock's joke subsequently didn't go over well and led to Smith taking to the stage.

Diddy confirmed today (28 March) that the pair made amends last night, saying: "That's not a problem. That's over. I can confirm that."

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