Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) appeared to delete a tweet praising Will Smith after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
“[Alopecia] nation stand up! Thank you [Will Smith]. Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives living with alopecia in the face of daily ignorance and insults,” Pressley said in her now-deleted tweet.
She added, “Women with baldies are for real men only. Boys need not apply.”
.@AyannaPressley deleted a tweet celebrating Will Smith’s moment defending his wife, in which he slapped Chris Rock. Screenshot here pic.twitter.com/9fXILPer8B
— Ben Goggin (@BenjaminGoggin) March 28, 2022
On Sunday night, Will Smith walked on the stage and slapped Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it, all right?” Rock said, seemingly referring to Pinkett Smith’s haircut.
The New York Times noted she has previously said she suffers from alopecia, a condition that can cause hair loss.
Pinkett Smith appeared to roll her eyes after Rock made the joke.
After Smith hit Rock, he added, “Oh wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me.”
Smith proceeded to shout, “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”
Rock responded, “It was a ‘G.I. Jane’ joke.
In case you missed it:
https://twitter.com/CBSNews/status/1508414903878664193
Smith later won the Oscar for best actor and gave a speech. He grew emotional, saying, “I want to apologize to the academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.”
The actor concluded his speech, adding, “Thank you. I hope the Academy invites me back.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement on Twitter, explaining, “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.”
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
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.
The Los Angeles Police Department also issued a statement to media outlets, as The Washington Post reported.
“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another,” the department said.
It continued, “The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”