The latest aftershock came on Thursday’s episode of The Wendy Williams, when an emotional Vivica A. Fox commented on Jada Pinkett Smith’s thoughts about the Will Smith-Chris Rock slapping incident during this year’s Oscar ceremonies. Fox admitted she was brought to tears by Smith’s remarks.
“I really felt to be a partner to Will Smith [whose] career basically took a crumble that night,” Fox said. “We were all rooting for Will Smith that night — Oscar night — we wanted him to win.
Will Smith that night as far as I was concerned was going to be crowned this generation’s Sidney Poitier, which is a huge honor.
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Fox asserted that Smith was defending his wife’s honor by walking on stage and slapping Chris Rock. “Also, let’s not forget, Chris Rock was assaulted. We cannot forget that for basically telling a joke that I really felt wasn’t that bad,” she said.
Fox felt that the incident tarnished what should have been a triumphal event for communities of color, adding: “Let’s not forget the show was executive produced by Will Packer, an African American man. This night was a night of African American and diversity for brown and black people. That now will forever be scarred.”
Expressing hope that Will and Jada Pinkett Smith would take more responsibility for their actions in the wake of the situation, Fox added: “I have love for the Smiths. I know their children. I’ve watched them grow up. … I just wish we could have just a little more accountability and for it to not seem so self-righteous on Jada’s part and that’s my feelings.”
On Wednesday, Jada Smith addressed the controversy directly on her Red Table Talk show, when she said: “About Oscar night. My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile. With the state of the world today, we need ’em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever.”
Smith concluded her remarks by saying: “Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years — and that’s [to] keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening.”
As a result of the slapping incident, Will Smith was barred from Academy ceremonies and events for the next 10 years. Smith, who won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard, has since publicly apologized to Rock. In his apology, he blamed his emotional reaction to Rock’s joke about Jada’s hair loss resulting from a medical condition known as alopecia.
Jada Smith devoted much of her Red Table Talk show to a discussion of alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that affects nearly 150 million people worldwide.
“I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is,” she said in introducing the topic.