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'He carried on like a pro': Chris Rock's restraint hailed after Will Smith ASSAULTS him on Oscar stage

Will Smith took offense to Rock's joke on wife Jada, stormed the stage and slapped him

After the most shocking moment of the 2022 Academy Awards that saw Will Smith walking to the stage and SLAPPING Chris Rock, people on the internet have hailed the comedian on how he conducted himself. Rock had just made a poorly-received joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett's hair loss comparing it to Demi Moore’s look in 1997’s film 'G.I. Jane.'

Jada has been vocal about her struggle with alopecia for years and why she rocks her shaved head. But the 57-year-old comedian’s take on her shaved head was not taken well by the actress’ husband as he went to the stage and hit him and was later heard saying, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!”

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Soon after the incident, Will won the best actor award for ‘King Richard’ and while giving his acceptance speech became emotional as he said: “I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.” He, however, did not apologize to Rock in his acceptance speech minutes after assaulting him on stage.

While social media was immediately flooded with reactions slamming Smith, many people also praised Rock for remaining relatively calm despite being slapped on the global stage. A user tweeted, “The restraint by Chris Rock is really impressive. You can see his instinct to swing back that he immediately stops. Could’ve gotten a lot worse. He ate it and carried on like a pro.” The second one wrote, “How was Will Smith not removed from the ceremony??? How does he assault someone on stage on camera and no consequence. Chris Rock deserves the Oscar for how he handled the situation!!!!”

The third one noted: “Will Smith may have won an Oscar, but Chris Rock has earned priceless Respect in the manner he conducted himself after that assault! To the daughter(s), wife & parents that watched a dad, husband and a son being abused tonight, I stand with you. #Oscars2022 #teamChrisRock.”

A person shared, “Chris Rock came back from that smack like it was nothing ! Clearly frazzled, but wow he carried on like a pro.” Another one said: “My respect for Chris Rock went through the roof. The guy had the composure & discipline to stand there instead of lashing out. And carried on with the show. What a man.” “Chris Rock is a much better person than I would ever be in that situation. My bad mouth would have gotten very carried away making jokes about them both until he came back to finish me off,” a person added.

A tweet read: “Chris Rock manned up and took that slap tho. Wondering how difficult a comedian's career is when some jokes turn awry. How many times has he prolly been slapped by someone who couldn't take a joke? And carried on with the show like nothing happened.” Another tweet mentioned: “Chris Rock, what a professional and a legend! "Will Smith just slapped the shit outta me" was a masterful recovery and the fact he didn't even rub his cheek but carried on and got his job presenting the award done was incredible! #Oscars.”