The infamous slapgate scandal involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards will probably go down in history as one of the most discussed incidents in Hollywood. Following Smith’s shocking retaliation after Rock’s comments on his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s skin condition, the industry and netizens were divided in their opinions regarding the occurrence.
While many of the Men in Black star’s peers supported the actor for standing by his wife, a significant number of his colleagues and netizens were also scathing in their criticism regarding his demeanor. There were also many controversial takes on the events leading up to the Oscar showdown. Television show host Nick Cannon was one of the celebrities who caused a stir by bringing up Jada Pinkett-Smith’s dubious past as a reason for what transpired at the Academy Awards.
Nick Cannon Called Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Show Toxic
Actor Jada Pinkett-Smith’s show The Red Table Talk was canceled by Meta along with a bunch of other Facebook Watch shows and television and radio host Nick Cannon is expressing his happiness about its departure. The star made a bold and controversial statement by calling the show toxic while revealing his opinion on how it was connected to Will Smith’s infamous Oscar slap involving Chris Rock. In his radio show The Daily Cannon, the host said,
“If there was no Red Table Talk, then he wouldn’t have slapped the s**t out of Chris Rock.”
Cannon was referring to one of the episodes where Jada Pinkett Smith confessed to Will Smith in front of millions of viewers about her shocking “entanglement” with singer August Alsina who was also her son Jaden’s friend. According to the father of 12, the subsequent backlash that Will Smith faced especially about memes and cruel jokes, affected the actor deeply enough to behave the way he did on a prestigious public forum like the Oscars.
Nick Cannon is No Stranger To Controversy
Apart from the dubious distinction of being a father to 12 children through 6 different women since 2011, Nick Cannon is also infamously known for his controversial comments on culture and religion. While interviewing rapper and former member of the rap group Public Enemy Richard Griffin for his Cannon’s Class podcast in July 2020, Cannon got into trouble for calling black people “the true Hebrews”. The host was called out along with Griffin for their anti-Jewish remarks while discussing anti-semitic conspiracy theories on the show. After receiving severe backlash, Cannon detailed a lengthy apology stating,
“I want to assure my Jewish friends, new and old, that this is only the beginning of my education.I am committed to deeper connections, more profound learning and strengthening the bond between our two cultures today and every day going forward.”
Following this incident and the growth that the actor confessed he experienced, Cannon evidently put that learning into practice by appearing in a subsequent podcast Solutions: 2 Hate or Not 2 Hate, in which he collaborated with Jonathan Greenblatt, chief executive of the Anti-Defamation League to initiate open dialogues and understanding between different communities.
Source: The Independent
