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Will Smith’s On-Screen Wife Still Stands by His Oscars Slap

thedailybeast.com · 22h · first reportShare

Two distinct events converged for Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor at the 2021 Academy Awards: she attended the ceremony as a first-time Best Supporting Actress nominee for her portrayal of Oracene “Brandy” Price in the sports drama King Richard , and her co-star Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face in what has become a hallmark moment of pop culture. After presenter Rock joked about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair, a symptom of her alopecia (“Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2 , can’t wait to see it!” he said), Smith climbed onto the Oscars stage, slapped Rock, and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f---ing mouth!” Smith won the award for Best Actor several awkward moments later for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. Smith was banned from the Academy Awards for 10 years after the incident, and the debate still rages on about the Slap’s morality and implications five years later. Read more at The Daily Beast.