The Will Smith Slap Wasn't Chris Rock's First Oscars Controversy
It's coming up on a year since the Oscars slap that was heard around the world. When Will Smith strode onstage in 2022 and smacked Chris Rock hard across the face, the comedian reeled, and the Twitterverse went into a meltdown. There hasn't been a fight so famous since Muhammad Ali and George Foreman's "Rumble In The Jungle" in 1974. There were endless memes, op-eds, and commentaries. #SlapGate was all anybody could talk about. Rock had been attacked for making a controversial quip about Jada Pinkett Smith. But then, it was Chris Rock on stage, not Anne Hathaway and James Franco, so you'd expect a controversial joke or two. Especially given that there's a shady side of Rock, as anybody who's seen his stand-up knows.
Perhaps trying to play it safe for 2023 with a less polarizing figure, The Academy announced Jimmy Kimmel as the evening's emcee. If anybody wants to take a shot every time a #SlapGate reference is made, it's guaranteed they'll be wasted by the show's end.
Many famous comedians have an anarchistic streak and a dark twisted side. That's what makes for the best observational comedy. But rebellious traits can also make for the most controversy and contention, especially in cancel culture times. Rock is right up there with his comedy idol Richard Pryor in the outrage stakes, so it's unsurprising to learn the Will Smith slap wasn't Chris Rock's first Oscars controversy.
Nobody was laughing at Chris Rock's Asian stereotypes and child labor joke
It was controversy, not Will Smith, that hit Chris Rock when he hosted the 2016 Oscars. During his opening monologue, the comedian spoke about Black Lives Matter and called out the award show for its lack of racial diversity. But Rock was slammed a short time later for using Asian stereotypes and joking about child labor — which, let's face it, is about as funny as human trafficking.
"The results of tonight's Academy Awards have been tabulated by the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers," Rock announced (via USA Today). "They sent us their most dedicated, accurate, and hard-working representatives," he continued before drawing on the typecast of Asians being exceptionally good at math. "So I want you to please welcome Ming Zhu, Bao Ling, and David Moscowitz," Rock said as three Asian kids walked onstage, clad in suits and carrying the famous results briefcases.
"Now, if anybody's upset about that joke, just tweet about it on your phone that was also made by these kids," Rock concluded, quickly making it onto the list of the most disastrous Oscars moments ever. Viewers followed his advice and took to Twitter in droves. NBC News reported that, among other complaints, Rock was accused of hypocrisy for discussing the lack of diversity and then joking about Asians, one of the most underrepresented races in the industry. Ironically, Pacific Islanders and Asian Americans are also often cast in stereotypical roles, Bloomberg learned from a study.
Chris Rock remains unapologetic
Chris Rock didn't apologize for causing offense in 2016. Instead, Oscars CEO Dawn Hudson was forced to step in. "It certainly was never the Academy's intent to offend anyone," she said in a statement (via The Guardian). "We are committed to doing our best to ensure that material in future Oscar telecasts be more culturally sensitive. It pains us that any aspect of the show was considered offensive, and I apologize for any hurt the skits caused."
Rock never released a statement regarding the 2022 controversy, either. However, per KTLA, Rock vaguely referenced the slap shortly after the Oscars, telling a Boston audience he was "still processing" it. Us Weekly reported that Rock joked during his comedy tour in New Jersey: "Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face." Rock referred to his attacker as "Suge Smith," which is a bit of a stretch as there aren't many similarities between the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star and the Death Row Records co-founder convicted of voluntary manslaughter, Suge Knight.
Meanwhile, Smith atoned for his Rock-slapping sin on Instagram. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris," the actor wrote. "I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be." Smith claimed on YouTube that he'd tried reaching out personally to Rock, but the comedian didn't yet want to engage. "Chris never got a one-on-one private apology from Will, only the public one, which really meant nothing," a source told the Daily Mail. Per People, Rock commented on Slapgate and on Will and Jada Pinkett Smith's personal lives in his 2023 Netflix special.