‘I’d get up and lamp him!’ Tory MP’s fiery response to Chris Rock’s Oscars joke
Oscars: Will Smith hits Chris Rock after he joked about Jada
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The 94th Academy Awards took an unexpected turn when the Prince of Bel-Air actor got on stage and slapped Chris Rock after poking fun at Jada Pinkett Smith. The comedian was presenting the nominations for an award when he cracked a joke about the ‘GI Jane’ haircut of Jada, prompting the actress to roll her eyes.
However, the joke was met with dismay from her husband, particularly since she has alopecia and has been grappling with hair loss since revealing her diagnosis in 2018.
Will Smith was initially shown laughing at the joke, before he approached the stage, hit out at the comedian and then returned to the audience.
From his seat, Will then shouted: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”
After he had returned to his seat, Mr Rock said: “Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me.”
He then said: “That was the greatest night in the history of television.”
Chris Rock then continued to resume presenting the best documentary feature category.
The shocking incident was broadcast live around the world and stunned both the live audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and those watching at home.
Many have taken to social media to voice their thoughts on this particular moment of ceremony with some condemning Will Smith’s actions, while others supported him.
One backing Will’s corner is Tory MP Simon Hoare, who branded the joke “tasteless”.
The MP for North Dorset wrote: “Re Will Smith incident @theoscars22live I’d just hope if someone thought it in good taste to make a joke at the expense of a medical condition of my wife then I’d get up and lamp him.
“The joke was tasteless.”
His comments came under fire though with some users saying the MP was “condoning violence”.
Barrister Rupert Myers wrote: “Not sure ‘it’s ok to use violence if you’re offended’ is a wise line to take for a member of parliament.”
While another user, named Paul, added: “Nothing to see here, just an MP condoning violence for attention.”
A third called John wrote: “You probably want to delete this tweet. The joke was crass, but you can’t condone violence.”
While another said: “The joke wasn’t tasteful and right to not like it, but you can’t hit someone back in retaliation. That’s not how problems should be solved.”
Other users agreed with Mr Hoare that the joke was in bad taste.
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One user, Mrs B, wrote: “It was a horrible thing to make a joke about.”
Brett Dakin wrote: “It’s about time bullying was confronted, I like Will stood up for his wife, many more should do the same, comedians should make funny jokes, not mock someone’s illness to make people laugh [sic].”
After the moment was televised around the world, the actor was seen being consoled by Denzel Washington and actor-producer Tyler Perry.
Bradley Cooper was also seen in close conversation with him.
On Monday morning, the Academy Awards official Twitter account tweeted about the incident saying violence is not condoned.
The tweet said: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
“Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
Mr Smith was joined by Jada as he was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams, Venus and Serena Williams’ father, in the film King Richard.
He was later awarded the prize, making it his first Oscar, and received a standing ovation from the crowd.
He has been nominated for the gong twice before in his 30-year career.
During his acceptance speech for his award, Mr Smith apologised to the academy and to his fellow nominees for the incident.
He said: “I want to apologise to the Academy and to all my fellow nominees, this is a beautiful moment, and I’m not crying for winning an award, it’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.”
He then went on to pay homage to the cast and crew of King Richard and the entire Williams family, before adding: “Art imitates life – I look like the crazy father. Love will make you do crazy things.”
He finished off, thanking his family and wife, before adding: “Thank you for this honour, thank you for this moment, thank you to the Williams family, I hope the Academy invites me back.”
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