Resurfaced footage shows Chris Rock RIDICULING Jada Pinkett Smith after Million Women March
It seems the issues between Chris Rock and Jada Pinkett Smith have a history as a viral video has shown the comedian taking a dig at the actress in the 1990s. The old video has come out amid the controversy that erupted when Will Smith slapped Rock at the Oscars on Sunday night, March 27, after the latter seemed to crack a joke about Jada’s shaved head.
The drama did not end there as Will also asked the 57-year-old film director to “Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”. Later, while giving his acceptance speech for the best actor award, he did apologize but not to Rock. The ‘King Richard’ actor 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.”
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Now, a compiled video containing old footage has been shared on YouTube by content creator Lailah Lynn that shows the times when Rock was apparently disrespectful towards ‘The Matrix Resurrections’ star. One such clip from 1997 shows Rock poking fun at Jada’s activism. During ‘The Chris Rock Show’, he reportedly said, “Million Women March was on last week in Philadelphia. I talked to Ice Cube, he called it 'B****es by the Bell.’ I didn't say it! Ice Cube said it. And Too Short said it too!”
The Million Women March was held on October 25, 1997, and “a major theme of the march was family unity and what it means to be an African American woman in America,” as per reports. Ridiculing the event, Rock also apparently said that the march took time to organize because the women wanted to wear different outfits, before remarking, “You know, at the Million Women March, there were moving speeches from people like Maxine Waters, Winnie Mandela, and here are some inspirational words from the lovely Jada Pinkett.”
The YouTube video then showed Rock playing a clip of the ‘Gotham’ star speaking on stage at the rally. She said: “I am here today because this is an act of power, women. Okay?” before the forged footage showed her shouting "The Roof Is on Fire" lyrics. The same year, Jada made an appearance on Rock’s show and when she spoke about the march, the actor said: “Yeah I've noticed a change in the street.”
The feud reportedly did not end there. At the 2016 Oscars, Rock elicited a few laughs at the expense of Jada, who did not attend the event because of “the #OscarsSoWhite initiative”. He had said, “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited.” ‘The Longest Yard’ actor had also added at the time: “It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated. It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West!”
Lynn’s compiled video has attracted a lot of attention, with people slamming Rock as a person commented below it: “Thank you for this! You're the ONLY one who's discussing Rock's history of misogynoir. I'm glad somebody finally smacked the fire out his a**!” Another person said: “Chris stays insulting black women in general for a laugh. I also love how the academy is not taking the blame for letting the joke through. For live TV they have to vet and know everything that is being said to make sure it doesn’t violate FCC rules. They care about that but not biting jokes about a black woman’s hair and medical condition. Seems like ppl would have learned from Chadwick. Jada came on the scene as an afrocentric actress and dancer. I remember Debbi Allen describing her as a young force to watch out for. Jada has always been one to not mess with.”
A comment read: “Thank you Lailah ! For letting everyone know who Chris Rock REALLY is . He obviously has disdain for Black Women and anyone that stands up for us. I really think that he doesn't like himself either. He should be glad that Will Smith threw him a bone because his career has been down hill for a while. His ticket sales went from $50.00 to over $700.00 since the incident.”