The comedian apparently hasn’t spoken to Will Smith since the slap
Chris Rock reportedly did not know that Jada Pinkett Smith had alopecia when he joked about her bald head at the Oscars on Sunday night.
After joking that he “can’t wait to see” Pinkett Smith in G.I. Jane 2, Will Smith marched on stage and slapped Rock, before telling him to “keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”
Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss, and has been vocal about her life living with the condition.
But a source has now claimed that Chris Rock didn’t know the actress had alopecia.
They told TMZ that the comedian “doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
Meanwhile, a producer has said that the joke was not in the script and was in fact an ad-lib.
ABC producer Rob Mills told Variety: “There have certainly been unpredictable moments where people have gotten up and done things, so we thought this was one of those.
“You started to realize this is real once Chris, who certainly knows the limits of broadcast standards, said, ‘Will Smith slapped the shit out of me.’ That’s when it became obvious that this was not a joke.”
Will Smith and Rock have apparently not spoken since the incident, with Rock going straight to his dressing room after the slap and then leaving the building.
The source added that Rock had always intended to leave the awards show after his presenting segment.
In 2018, Pinkett Smith revealed she was suffering from alopecia in an episode of her show Red Table Talk which focused on “body confessions.”
At the time she said: “I’ve been having issues with hair loss. It was terrifying when it first started.
“I was in the shower one day and then just handfuls of hair just in my hands … It was one of those times in my life that I was literally shaking with fear.”
She has been vocal about living with the condition, and last summer debuted a buzz cut hairstyle.
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Since the slap on Sunday, Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock, and the Academy have released a statement saying that it “condemns the actions” of the actor.
It added: “We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”
You can find out more information about hair loss and alopecia by visiting the NHS website or Alopecia UK.
Related links:
- Oscar viewers are convinced they have spotted details ‘proving’ Will Smith’s slap was fake
- 70 per cent of people believe Will Smith should be allowed to keep his Oscar after hitting Chris Rock
- A timeline of Will Smith and Chris Rock’s relationship
