It’s been nearly four months since Will Smith walked onto the Oscar stage in March and slapped Chris Rock across the face in defense of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock had made a G.I. Jane joke at Jada’s expense.
Jada for the last several years has been battling alopecia. She currently shaves her head as a result.
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While Smith has since made a few public apologies, he’s largely remained out of the spotlight since the whole debacle took place. Rock is currently on tour, and while he’s briefly talking about the slap, noting that he only recently got his hearing back, the comedian said he will talk at length about the slap once he “gets paid.”
Will Smith Wins First Award Since Oscar Slap Felt Around the World
Nonetheless, while the world went into a collective shock over Smith’s Oscar behavior, it’s not stopping him from winning awards for his stellar performance in the movie King Richard. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, just moments after slapping Rock, Smith one an Oscar for his role in the award-winning movie about the lives of Serena and Venus Williams.
And just last night, Smith one another award as well. Although he wasn’t in attendance, Smith snagged the Best Actor award at the BET Awards on June 26. He was up against other beloved actors such as Sterling K. Brown, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Washington, Anthony Anderson, Damson Idris, Adrian Holmes, and Jabari Banks.
In a statement issued to CNN by his publicist back in April, Smith began by saying, “I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home.”
“I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken. I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film.”
As Smith concluded his statement he wrote, “So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
Jada also issued her first statement recently while filming an episode of her show Red Table Talk which highlighted people who suffer from alopecia. “Considering what I been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories.”
“I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it is like to have this condition. And to inform people about what alopecia actually is,” Jada continued.
“Now, 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 them both. And we all actually need one another more than ever.”
That’s when Jada addressed how she and Will are handling the aftermath of his outburst together. “Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening.”
It’s unclear when Smith will return to the public eye. For now, he was last spotted in India with a well-known spiritual guide he’s been working with for a while.