How Celebs Reportedly Reacted To Will Smith's Controversial Slap At The Oscars
It hasn't even been 24 hours since Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live on stage at the Oscars for cracking a bad joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia, and the dust still hasn't settled. The incident nearly broke Twitter, and has since caused a flurry of hot takes and opinions on who was right, who was wrong, and how the Academy should handle this. If you were like host Amy Schumer, who joked during the show that she missed it, or like Cher, who really did miss it to get a Dr. Pepper (that is just so Cher), you'll have lots of time to re-watch the footage and draw your own conclusions.
But how did people in the room react as it all went down in real-time? Vanity Fair's live updates reported that, "in the lobby, people huddled around their phones watching replays of the incident. 'I don't think that's a joke,' one woman said. Two others added, 'Look, we went to rehearsals, and that was not in Chris Rock's script.'"
Some celebs inside the Dolby theater, however, reacted a little differently, using every opportunity, whether it be an off-camera commercial break or even during their time on stage, to offer compassion, thoughts, and hugs. And it looks like the hero of this altercation is shaping up to be "The Tragedy of Macbeth" star Denzel Washington.
Denzel Washington took Will Smith under his arm and offered sage advice
During the commercial break after the incident between Will Smith and Chris Rock, Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington, who was up against Smith for the Best Actor trophy, took the "King Richard" star aside, wrapped an arm around him, and gently spoke to him. The video of this moment was captured by The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg, who posted it to Twitter. The clip shows both Washington and Tyler Perry brushing off Smith's shoulders. Smith later acknowledged Washington in his acceptance speech, revealing the "Training Day" star said to him, "At your highest moment, be careful, that's when the devil comes for you." Rebecca Ford of Vanity Fair also tweeted seeing Washington kneel before Jada Pinkett Smith and putting an arm around her. Bradley Cooper was also spotted hugging Will during the commercial break.
Sean "P Diddy" Combs didn't get to have a backstage chat because he was the next presenter after the altercation, so he used his time at the podium to call for love. "Will and Chris, we're going to solve this like family," he said, per Vanity Fair. "Right now we're moving on with love."
But we can all agree that Oscar-winning actors Nicole Kidman's reaction, coupled with Lupita Nyong'o's reaction, were probably the two most relatable. Kidman was photographed nearly jumping out of her front-row seat, her mouth agape with horror, while Nyong'o's was one of pure, "WTF?" Honestly, these two were all of us in that moment.