Will Smith and Chris Rock have a history that predates the Oscars slap

By Lisa Respers France, CNN
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Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at Oscars; ‘CODA’ makes history

Sunday night wasn’t the first time Chris Rock had joked about Jada Pinkett Smith, but it may have been his last.

Her husband, Will Smith, stormed on stage at the 94th Academy Awards after Rock joked “Jada I love you, ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it” and hit Rock in the face.

Actress Demi Moore famously shaved her head for her role in the film “G.I. Jane” and Pinkett Smith has a close haircut because she suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.

<p>presenter Chris Rock, left, reacts after being hit on stage by Will Smith while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. </p>

AP Photo/Chris Pizzello

presenter Chris Rock, left, reacts after being hit on stage by Will Smith while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. 

In 2016, Rock hosted the Oscars and joked about Pinkett Smith and her husband boycotting over #OscarsSoWhite, the online movement which began as a way to address the lack of diversity at the Academy Awards.

Rock declared that the Smiths, as well as Black director Spike Lee “went mad” over the issue as there were no Black acting nominees that year.

“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties,” Rock said during his opening monologue. “I wasn’t invited.”

Rock went on to joke that he understood Pinkett Smith’s anger.

“Jada’s mad her man Will was not nominated for ‘Concussion.'” Rock said in reference to the 2015 football film Will Smith starred in. “I get it. 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 [the 1999 film] ‘Wild Wild West.'”

<p>Host Chris Rock speaks at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. </p>

Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Host Chris Rock speaks at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 28, 2016, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. 

Pinkett Smith commented on the jokes days later when asked about them by paparazzi.

“Hey look, it comes with the territory, we gotta keep it moving,” she said. “We got a lot of stuff we gotta handle, a lot of stuff going on in our world right now. We gotta keep it moving.”

E! reported that Smith, who was filming “Collateral Beauty” in New York City at the time, simply smiled and flashed a peace sign when asked.

Smith and Rock’s relationship goes back to the 1990s. Rock guest starred on Smith’s hit series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” where he played a character named Maurice and Maurice’s sister Jasmine.

In 2018 Smith posted a birthday tribute on his verified Instagram account to his ex-wife Sheree Zampino, who is the mother of his adult son Trey.

<p>Actor Will Smith, left, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, center, and actor Chris Rock during the second quarter of Game 5 in their NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series in Boston, Monday, May 21, 2012. </p>

AP Photo/Charles Krupa

Actor Will Smith, left, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, center, and actor Chris Rock during the second quarter of Game 5 in their NBA basketball Eastern Conference semifinal playoff series in Boston, Monday, May 21, 2012. 

“Happy Bday, @shereezampino. #BestBabyMamaEver! 🙂 I Love You, Ree-Ree,” the caption read.

Rock left a comment saying, “Wow. You have a very understanding wife,” according to E! to which Zampino responded, “Don’t hate.”

On Sunday night, Smith apologized to his fellow nominees and the Academy while accepting his best actor award for “King Richard.”

The Academy tweeted that it “does not condone violence of any form.”

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