Oscars 2022 or the 94th Academy Award winners were announced yesterday amid much anticipation and after several delays. While Sian Heder’s CODA bagged the Best Picture Award, Will Smith bagged the Best Actor award. However, this time, the focal point shifted from the big winners at the Oscars to an incident that marred the occasion.
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the stage after the comedian joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith has issued an apology publicly now, but reportedly, the actor and Chris Rock haven’t talked after the incident. While celebrities and fans are divided over the incident, this is not the first time that Will Smith has lost his cool.
From slapping a reporter on the red carpet to being involved in an assault case, Smith has been in the headlines over outbursts quite a few times. So let us look back at some of Smith’s previous controversies.
Just a few days after he received the first Grammy award with DJ Jazzy Jeff, a 20-year-old Will Smith was arrested for allegedly assaulting record promoter William Hendricks. Hendrick had almost lost his sight in one eye due to the assault. Reportedly, Smith had asked his bodyguard to attack Hendrick after which he was charged with aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person and simple assault.
In an incident that was captured on camera, Will Smith had slapped a reporter when he leaned in and tried to kiss the actor at the premiere of Men in Black 3 in Moscow. The actor was on the red carpet when the Ukrainian reporter approached him. Alleging that the reporter “tried to kiss (him) on (his) mouth,” Smith pushed the reporter away before slapping him with the back of his hand.
Reportedly, the reporter was a prankster named Vitalii Sediuk who was asking for a hug but as got slapped instead as he went too close to the actor.
- Jealous of wife’s relationship with Tupac
Will Smith had admitted in his memoir in 2021 that he felt a “raging jealousy” towards rapper Tupac Shakur as his wife Jada Pinkett Smith grew closer to him. Jada and Tupac had attended the same high school and remained friends even when Jada started dating Smith. Smith had written that he wanted Jada to look at him the way she looked at Tupac. He had also stated that he was ‘too immature’ to become friends with the rapper.
- Attacking co-star in 1993
During an interview with a radio station in 1993, Will Smith had attacked his The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Janet Hubert. Hubert was popularly known for playing Aunt Viv on the popular TV show. As reported by The Sun, during an interview with an Atlanta radio station in 1993, Will claimed, “I can say straight up that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show because I know she is going to dog me in the press. She has basically gone from a quarter of a million dollars a year to nothing. She’s mad now but she’s been mad all along. Janet wanted the show to be The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show because I know she is going to dog me in the press,” and attacked her. The two made up in 2020.
