We all know who Will Smith is, he’s gone on to establish such a well-known name for himself in Hollywood after all. If people were to be asked what type of a person they’d expect Smith to be like, many would say that he’s probably one of the funniest and down-to-earth actors in the industry ever, but the Oscars slap might have tarnished that image.
As much as everyone knows about Will Smith’s personality or the one he put up in public all these years, no one will forget the notoriously iconic slap he gave to Chris Rock at the Academy Awards last year. And Joe Rogan thinks this has forever changed what people think of the famous actor.
Let’s Recount The Internet-Famous Chris Rock-Will Smith Slap Incident
March 27, 2022. It’s a fine peaceful day and you’re seated on your couch watching the annual Academy Awards live stream on TV. Your pick for Best Actor is Will Smith for his work as the lead actor in King Richard, and you just cannot wait till the awards are distributed for the Best Actor category.
As of now, Chris Rock (the host) is announcing the nominees for Best Documentary Feature- he then takes a small little jab of words towards the married Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, who were both nominated that night.
He then takes the decision to shift the focus of his barrage of jokes onto Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith- and boy did he regret it. Rock makes a light-hearted joke about Jada’s alopecia condition, to which her husband initially found funny, but the mood changes in a matter of a few seconds.
What followed was Mr. Smith angrily getting up off his seat and slapping Chris Rock right in his face, and you’re shocked. So was everyone in the world tuning in at the time, there’s no way he recovers from this.
What makes it even more awkward is the fact that just later on, Will Smith would go up on stage as he won in the Best Actor category for his role in King Richard. The Hancock star even issued an apology about the whole situation after, but that might not be enough.
Joe Rogan Thinks The Oscars Slap Has Forever Tarnished Will Smith’s Image
Despite Will Smith having already issued an apology to the Chris Rock, popular UFC commentator Joe Rogan thinks the damage he’s done to his reputation is irreversible.
During his The Joe Rogan Experience Podcast, the 55-year-old says that Smith is no longer going to be the same jubilant actor when people think of him in any context, all because of the slap-
Him (Chris Rock) getting slapped and then him trying to go back to comedy and seeing Will Smith meltdown in front of him…That moment was probably the end of how anybody will ever think of Will Smith again as the movie star guy.
Rogan continues-
“This happy guy with his family who is putting together all these incredible films goes on to win the Academy Award that night, goes on stage, and they applaud him after he just assaulted one of the greatest comedians that’s ever lived over the most innocuous roast joke. Like what, that’s it? It’s so mild.”
Almost anyone would agree that Smith’s reaction was over the top in this incident. Could his reputation forever be tainted by this incident?
King Richard is currently available for streaming on HBO Max.
Source: YouTube
