Will Smith, 53, made a joke about him and Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, right around the time that he smacked Chris Rock, 57, on-stage at the Academy Awards on Sunday March 27. The actor left a since-deleted comment on an Instagram post of he and his wife showing off their outfits, where he quipped, “You can’t invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere!!”
While it’s not clear if Will had left the comment before or after the shocking moment where he slapped Chris, he did write it about three hours after originally making the post. The video featured he and Jada showing off their looks, while a popular TikTok audio played in the background. “Good morning everyone. God has let me live another day, and I am about to make it everyone’s problem,” a voiceover said, before a rap song kicked in. The pair had smiled as they came together during the voice over and then made funny faces as the song played. In the caption, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star had made a similar crack about having a reckless approach to the evening. “Me ‘n @jadapinkettsmith got all dressed up to choose chaos,” he wrote.
With it being unclear about when exactly he wrote the joke about he and Jada’s hometowns, no one can be certain whether Will was making light of the shocking moment when he slapped the Tambourine comedian or if he was just being playful, and he’s since deleted the comment.
Of course, Will slapping Chris was the talk of the evening. The actor rushed the stage after the comic had made a joke about Jada starring in a G.I. Jane sequel, because of her shaved head. After Will smacked him, Chris seemed just as surprised as everyone, before Will shouted at him. Since the slap, the LAPD has announced that Chris won’t be pressing charges against Will.
Shortly after the incident, Will was announced as the winner of the Best Actor award for his performance in King Richard. In his acceptance speech, the actor offered an apology and made a small joke about the incident. “I want to apologize to the academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” he said. “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. Love will make you do crazy things.” At the end of the tearful speech, he said that he’d hoped that the Academy would allow him to return again. After the win, Will posed for a family photo with Jada and their three kids Trey, 29, Jaden, 23, and Willow, 21.