Will Smith raps about his infamous Chris Rock slap as his new album is teased. Using the Oscars encounter from three years ago to inspire music on his upcoming release, Based on a True Story, his opening track on it begins with “Will Smith is cancelled,” before the actor starts rapping with lines including “I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back.”
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air star, 56, won the Best Actor Oscar in 2022 for his role in King Richard, but his altercation with guest presenter Rock, 60, took the headlines. Millions watched as the Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It singer took issue with a joke made by the comedian about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 53.
He compared her hair to shaven headed character GI Jane, despite Jada having publicly said she suffered from the hair loss condition alopecia. After Chris cracked the joke, Will leapt onto the stage and slapped the presenter, saying “keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”
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The actor walked on stage and slapped Rock before continuing to shout from his seat.
Chris Rock and both Will and Jada had a decades-long working relationship before the awards. Chris had appeared on Will’s hit show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in 1995 and they co-starred together in the mockumentary Torrance Rises in 1999.
They were also seen hanging out together at awards shows in the nineties, and Chris presented Will with a Kids’ Choice Award in 2005. Jada, meanwhile, starred with Chris in the Madagascar animated movies, and the pair often walked the red carpet together promoting the films.
Chris had even joked about Jada and Will at a previous Oscars, in 2016. He commented on the fact that Jada had said she was boycotting the ceremony, saying: “Jada said she’s not coming, protest. I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s going to boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!”
Later that evening he had a dig at Will, too, who had not been nominated for his acclaimed performance in drama Concussion.
“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, OK?” he said, referring to the comedy adventure widely considered Will’s biggest flop.
Since the infamous 2022 slap, Chris Rock has scored a series of successes. He starred in Netflix’s first live comedy special, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, which was nominated for multiple awards, and featured a few digs at Jada and Will. He has also written and directed the movie Misty Green, due for release later this year.
Four months after the Oscars, Will apologised to Chris in a YouTube video. “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out,” he said.
“So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
He also told TV host Trevor Noah that: “There’s many nuances and complexities to it, you know, but at the end of the day, I just — I lost it. You just don’t know what’s going on with people and I was going through something that night. Not that that justifies my behaviour at all.”
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