Long before the infamous Oscar slap incident, there was a moment on The Arsenio Hall Show where Will Smith made a playful bald joke directed at a bassist. As the adage goes, “The internet never forgets,”, recent events have shown it’s accuracy to be true. As internet sleuths successfully uncovered a past incident involving Will Smith, that contradicts his actions to the light-hearted bald joke aimed at his wife. As it resulted in a much regrettable confrontation with the host of the 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock.
The incident that took place in 1991 showcased the actor humorously making a bald joke in a similar light-hearted manner at the expense of the show’s bassist. While the remark was made in jest at the time, it resurfaced on the internet, causing some internet users to feel agitated due to its similarity with recent events and their respective consequences.
Will Smith’s Hypocritic Bald Joke Didn’t Age Well
It has been more than a year since the Will Smith–Chris Rock incident at the Oscars, and the internet has almost gotten over it. But as soon as the hype faded a bit involving the incident an old video resurfaced on social media, featuring Will Smith playfully teasing a bald gentleman in a similar fashion.
The clip, of the actor appearing on The Arsenio Hall Show, in 1991 since then went viral. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star was seen engaging in some lighthearted banter with the show’s in-house band during a segment. The bassist John B Williams to be particular, whose baldness was the butt of the joke. He said,
“Like he has a rule, the bass player, he got a rule. He’s got to wax his head every morning and that’s a rule–He follows the rules men! He follows the rules–Oh, it’s a joke. It’s a joke, come on!“
The video’s increasing popularity on social media sparked discussions about the actor’s actions, prompting conversations about the potential consequences and the perceived hypocrisy displayed in the clip.
Also Read: Margot Robbie Claimed Her Sassy Wildcat Reply Made Will Smith Cast Her in $158M Movie
Will Smith Regrets His Actions
The incident has been haunting Will Smith ever since it occurred and rightfully so, since then the actor has expressed his regrets time and again. Thus, during his first big interview since the Oscars, Smith opened up to Daily Show host Trevor Noah, sharing that the altercation was a deeply troubling and “horrific night” for him as well, just as it was for the people who witnessed it. Although he believed nothing could justify his actions, he continued to do so. He said,
“There’s many nuances and complexities to it –but at the end of the day, just, I lost it,–I guess what I would say is, you just never know what somebody’s going through, and I was going through something that night.”
At the Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles, Chris Rock made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The joke involved a humorous suggestion that she should appear in a hypothetical movie titled G.I. Jane 2, alluding to the main character’s bald head. As Pinkett Smith was diagnosed with alopecia sometime back, Will Smith took the joke to heart and in turn chose violence as his appropriate comeback to the burn. However as the night wore on, the actor took a moment for introspection and began to understand the impact his actions had.
Source: The Arsenio Hall Show(via YouTube)
