Jada Pinkett-Smith was praised by social media users for her ‘dignified’ reaction to Chris Rock making a joke about her bald head at the Oscars last night.
The 50-year-old actress was the butt of a joke by the presenter, who looked to Pinkett Smith and joked that he, ‘can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2,’ mocking her lack of hair somewhat reminiscent of Demi Moore in the 1997 film G.I. Jane.
She could be seen rolling her eyes, before the camera cut back to Rock, while her 53-year-old husband Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped him, later yelling at him from his seat to ‘Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth.’
It’s unclear if Rock was aware of Pinkett Smith’s history with alopecia before making the joke at the Dolby Theater on Sunday evening.
However many of those watching praised the actress for her response to the explosive moment, with one writing: ‘Jada is the only person who came out of this with any dignity.’
After Will was named Best Actor at the event, Jada could be seen pressing her forehead to his, before they went on to party at the Vanity Fair event alongside their children.
Jada Pinkett-Smith was praised by social media users for her ‘dignified’ reaction to Chris Rock making a joke about her bald head at the Oscars last night
Many of those watching the programme from home praised the 50-year-old actress for her response to Rock’s joke and her husband’s violence
Another wrote: ‘Thinking about Jada Pinkett Smith and all she’s having to endure tonight and probably every other night this week.
‘She doesn’t deserve any of what she’s going to be dealing with and there’s a grace and dignity that will be expected of her that is absolutely unfair.’
A third added: ‘Jada always strikes me as an intelligent, articulate woman who I’m sure would have found a dignified way to defend herself later, this is an absolute disgrace!
‘If it were me I’d be more embarrassed by my husbands behavior than a GI Jane joke.’
Will and Jada joined together for some playful posts before the ceremony, but they seemed to capture the actor’s mood even before his brutal outburst – with the actor joking he was ‘ready to choose chaos’
The couple appeared to goof off, making silly faces, ahead of Sunday’s awards ceremony
Will and Jada joined together for some playful posts before the ceremony, but they seemed to capture the actor’s mood even before his brutal outburst.
The actor shared a short Instagram video online saying: ‘Me ‘n @jadapinkettsmith got all dressed up to choose chaos.’
The couple went on to walk the red carpet hand-in-hand, with Jada opting for a dramatic ruffled gown for the occasion.
Jada and Will then took a seat alongside one another for the awards ceremony, where they were seated in the front row.
Jada wore a dramatic emerald gown as she attended the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California last night
Jada was the butt of a joke by the presenter, who looked to Pinkett Smith and joked that he, ‘can’t wait for G.I. Jane 2,’ mocking her lack of hair somewhat reminiscent of Demi Moore in the 1997 film G.I. Jane
Jada and Will arrived side-by-side at the event earlier last night, with the actress donning an extravagant emerald gown for the outing
Pinkett Smith first opened up about dealing with alopecia during a 2018 episode of her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk
Jada Pinkett Smith attends the 94th Annual Academy Awards on Sunday in Hollywood
The jaw-dropping moment took place moments after Rock arrived on stage to present the award for Best Documentary Feature.
It all kicked off when Rock, 57, pointed to Smith, 53, and his wife, quipping: ‘Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.’
At that point, the camera turned to Smith, who at first was seen visibly laughing at the gag and even clapped his hands, a gesture that seemed to suggest he saw the funny side.
But as Smith laughed while still seated, Pinkett Smith – who has been open about her struggle with hair loss and alopecia – visibly rolled her eyes, looking furious.
The slap: Moment Will stormed the stage at the 94th Academy Awards and assaulted comedian Chris Rock who had just made fun of his wife Jada
Stony-faced: Will’s wife Jada – who has been open about her hair loss and struggle with alopecia – began to roll her eyes after Rock made a joke about her hair
‘That was a nice one!’ Rock then said on stage, justifying his joke as a mild one.
However, in the seconds that the camera had cut-away, Smith then jumped from his seat and stormed the stage as Rock was heard saying: ‘Uh-oh…’
This is when the world saw King Richard star Smith – who would later collect an Oscar for Best Actor – approach Rock and promptly slap him across the face.
‘Wow,’ Rock could be heard saying after the assault. ‘Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me.’
Not amused: Jada, 50, continued to roll her eyes but Will, 53, was still laughing and even clapped his hands at the remark
What the world saw: Will was seen clearly taking a swing at Chris, and slapping him across the face
Shaken: Rock looked understandably shocked as Smith walked away
In footage that had been uncensored, Smith was heard saying: ‘Keep my wife’s name out your f***king mouth.’
Actress Lupita Nyong’o, who was sitting near Smith, could be seen visibly confused at what had just happened as some audience members were left wondering if it had been part of some pre-arranged skit.
But as Will made his foul-mouthed tirade, Nyong’o’s expression quickly turned serious.
The exchange was muted on a delayed telecast in much of the US, but was aired in full to some international audiences.
Eyes front: Stars around Smith began to realise what they had just witness was real
While the cameras did not capture Jada’s reaction to the slap, the actress later appeared stunned as she rose from her seat to speak to other attendees
US actor Denzel Washington and actor-producer Tyler Perry comfort Will after the shocking televised slap. Smith later shared what Washington told him: ‘At your highest moment, be careful because that´s when the devil comes for you.’
The actor could be seen walking alongside Denzel after the shocking moment before he took his seat alongside Jada
Bradley Cooper, consoles Will Smith appear in the audience at the Oscars on Sunday after Smith struck Rock
After being slapped, Rock appeared shocked and flustered as he tried to resume presenting the best documentary feature category.
‘That was the greatest night in the history of television,’ Rock said, before awkwardly returning to presenting best documentary, which went to Questlove’s ‘Summer of Soul (…or When the Revolution Was Not Televised).’
Rapper Diddy was the next person on stage to acknowledge the fall-out as he said: ‘Will, Chris, we are gonna solve that like a family at the gold party. For now, we will move on with love.’
Two-time Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington could be seen consoling Will and Jada after he smacked Chris in a commercial break.
After the incident: Will and Jada hold hands as his name is called out for his Best Actor win
Will Smith accepts the Actor in a Leading Role award for King Richard from Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, and John Travolta onstage during the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Dolby Theatre
Will Smith used his acceptance speech for his first Academy Award to defend storming onto the Oscars stage and slapping presenter Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s haircut. Smith holds his first Academy Award for Best Actor aloft during his speech
Accepting the award, Smith issued a tearful apology for his emotional outburst, saying: ‘I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment’
US actor Will Smith (R) sits alongside US actress Jada Pinkett Smith with the award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for ‘King Richard’ during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood
The couple is embraced by fellow celebs after Smith won the award for Best Actor
Smith was also seen being further consoled by Tyler Perry and Bradley Cooper who placed his hands on Smith’s shoulders as he attempted to comfort him.
Later, Smith opened his acceptance speech with an emotional defense of his assault on Rock for mocking the short hair of Pinkett Smith, who suffers from a medical condition that causes hair loss.
‘Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,’ Smith said in his first remarks. He continued: ‘I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.’
Smith went on to issue a tearful partial apology for his emotional outburst, but did not apologize to Rock. ‘I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment,’ he said.
‘Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father’ said Smith. ‘But love will make you do crazy things.’
Smiling: Will Smith had the full support of his family as he celebrated his Oscar win on Sunday night, hours after shocking the ceremony by slapping Chris Rock
Family: The actor was joined by his wife Jada and their children Jaden, 23, and Willow, 21, and his son Trey, 30, at the Vanity Fair party at the Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills
Man of the moment: The actor was greeted by a crowd of cheering stars while wife Jada was by his side after he slapped Rock for making a joke about Jada’s hair loss
Hours later, Will showed he had the full support of his family as he celebrated his Oscar win at the Vanity Fair Party.
The actor was joined by his wife Jada, their children Jaden, 23, and Willow, 21, and his son Trey, 30, at the event held at the Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills.
The actor was greeted by a crowd of cheering stars while wife Jada was by his side hours after the incident which saw him slap Rock for making a joke about Jada’s hair loss.
Will celebrated his win at the star-studded Vanity Fair party, where he and Jada were seen working the room, receiving hugs from stars such as Lupita Nyong-o, who was sat behind the couple during the ceremony.
The actor, 55, posed for selfies, danced with friends and rapped along to his biggest hits including Summertime and Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It which a beaming Jada cheered him on.
Winner: The focus was on Will’s big win as the night drew on and not the shocking slap
Celeb support: Will and Jada also posed for photo with chat show host Trevor Noah
Jaden and Willow joined their parents at the afterparty.
Rapper Jaden had earlier taken to Twitter to defend his father, tweeting ‘And that’s how we do it!’ in a since-deleted post, before adding in another post: ‘My Dads Speech Made Me Cry.’
Jaden’s tweet has been retweeted more than 42,000 times and was met with mixed response from social media users.
Some alleged the Summertime in Paris singer was a hypocrite because earlier this month he tweeted: ‘Praying For Peace In The World.’
Sweet: Willow also posted a photo of Jada and Jaden sharing a hug backstage
Others outright criticized Jaden for his remarks. ‘No it’s not how you do it,’ commented hip-hop artist Ruslan.
While Willow has not addressed the incident, she did, however, post a series of photos to her Instagram page modeling a black-and-red jeweled outfit, acting as if nothing happened.
Late Sunday night, the LAPD issued a statement saying that Rock had not filed a police report against Smith, but that if he chooses to do so, police will investigate.
‘LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,’ the statement said. ‘The incident involved one individual slapping another.’
It was not immediately clear whether the Academy would penalize Smith in any way for his outburst.
Jada Pinkett Smith’s history with alopecia – the autoimmune disorder that has caused her to lose her hair
The most shocking moment of the 94th Oscars has its roots in an autoimmune disorder known as alopecia, which has caused actress Jada Pinkett Smith to lose her hair.
Pinkett Smith first opened up about dealing with alopecia during a 2018 episode of her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk.
‘It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, “Oh my god, am I going bald?”‘ she shared on the program.
Opening up: Pinkett Smith first opened up about dealing with alopecia during a 2018 episode of her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk
She added that she found a treatment to slow the hair loss, but added she was open to, ‘other ideas.’
“I’m getting my little steroid injections, and they seem to be helping, but not curing, but they seem to be helping, but I’m open to other ideas,” she said.
‘I just want to say a thank you to everyone for all the outreach, from all the doctors and all the holistic practitioners, who have been reaching out to me for this head of mine, I appreciate it so much,’ she continued.
‘And I’m taking into a lot of consideration all the recommendations that are coming my way,’ she said.
Pinkett Smith decided to shave her head in July 2021, sharing an Instagram photo with her and daughter Willow, who inspired the cut with her own shorter hair.
‘Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50’s are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed,’ she said on her Instagram post.
Shaved: Pinkett Smith decided to shave her head in July 2021, sharing an Instagram photo with her and daughter Willow, who inspired the cut with her own shorter hair
Willow: ‘Willow made me do it because it was time to let go BUT … my 50’s are bout to be Divinely lit with this shed,’ she said on her Instagram post
Consideration: ‘And I’m taking into a lot of consideration all the recommendations that are coming my way,’ she said
She also spoke about her journey with alopecia on a September 2021 episode of Red Table Talk with Tiffany Haddish and Yvonne Orji, telling the the decision to shave her head came from, ‘that kind of expression and release.”
The actress said shaving her head gave her a sense of, ‘freedown,’ that made her more connected to, ‘the great Divine in a special way.’
‘It was a huge relief. It was that moment, I was just like, “I’m done. I’m done with the worry, I’m done with the care. I’m just done,”‘ she added.
She most recently spoke about alopecia in a late December 2021 video, where she showed off her freshly shaved head.
‘Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!’
She said in the video, ‘Now at this point, I can only laugh. Trying to live with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here,’ she said, pointing to a line on her scalp.
Divine: The actress said shaving her head gave her a sense of, ‘freedown,’ that made her more connected to, ‘the great Divine in a special way.
Line: She said in the video, ‘Now at this point, I can only laugh. Trying to live with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here,’ she said, pointing to a line on her scalp
‘So it just showed up like that, so this is gonna be a little more difficult for me to hide, so I thought I’d just share it so you all are not asking any questions,’ she said.
She added she was going to put some rhinestones in there and, ‘make me a little crown, that’s what momma’s gonna do.’
Alopecia is a condition that affects both males and females equally, though it is incredibly rare, affecting just 0.1% to 0.2% of the population.
Share: ‘So it just showed up like that, so this is gonna be a little more difficult for me to hide, so I thought I’d just share it so you all are not asking any questions,’ she said
The disorder does not alter life expectancy, though no cure for alopecia is currently known.
Notable people who have alopecia include Viola Davis, Barry star Anthony Carrigan, Friday the 13th star Derek Mears, American Ninja Warrior star Kevin Bull.
Actor Christopher Reeve was also diagnosed with alopecia after his paralysis.
Not alter: The disorder does not alter life expectancy, though no cure for alopecia is currently known
Notable: Notable people who have alopecia include Viola Davis, Barry star Anthony Carrigan, Friday the 13th star Derek Mears, American Ninja Warrior star Kevin Bull