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Will Smith’s Public Violence Triggered The Resurfacing Of Chris Rock’s 2020 Interview Regarding His Sexual And Racial Abuse Trauma
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Will Smith’s Public Violence Triggered The Resurfacing Of Chris Rock’s 2020 Interview Regarding His Sexual And Racial Abuse Trauma

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Being famous is not all about rainbows and unicorns. Yes, the whole world might know them, they might earn a crazy amount of money – but it all costs them their privacy. Ordinary folks constantly judge their looks, are too obsessed with their private life and frankly treat them like objects.

They’re also not protected from developing an entitlement syndrome. Well-known folks often get struck by this superiority complex that allows them to say and do questionable things and not face any consequences due to their power. For that reason, even with all the potential luxuries, their world is devilishly toxic and very damaging.

Look back on the recent Chris Rock incident, for instance. What seemed like an innocent joke earned him a smack in front of 2,500 notable attendees. Smith’s angry outburst split the audience into two camps, making them wonder whether the actor’s violent actions are justifiable.

More info: Twitter

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony startled folks with its unexpected feud

Image credits: REUTERS

Bored Panda has already covered this – however, for those who are not yet familiar with this unpleasant incident, the event took place on March 27th, during a live broadcast of the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. Rock, who was hosting, made a joke regarding Jada Smith’s shaved head by referencing the movie G.I. Jane, linking her appearance to Demi Moore’s. While the camera showed that Will found the comedian’s remark to be amusing, he later made his way towards Chris and slapped him across the face.

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Will Smith hit Chris Rock after comedian made a joke regarding Jada Smith’s shaved head

Image credits: TheAcademy

Naturally, the organization issued a statement saying how they don’t condone any sort of violence. It is known that the actor was asked to leave the event – however, he refused. Still, the board of governors revealed that they are indeed taking actions: “we have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.”

The actor later issued an apology on his Instagram page stating that his behavior was “inexcusable”

Image credits: willsmith

A few days after the shocking and unforeseen altercation, Will Smith finally broke his silence by addressing it on his Instagram page. The actor revealed that his actions were, in fact, unacceptable and inexcusable. Smith blamed the outburst on his excessive emotionality as the joke was made about his beloved wife’s medical condition (though Chris Rock says that he knew nothing about Jada’s alopecia). The man then apologized to Chris while admitting that he was wrong and out of line.

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Image credits: willsmith

The event triggered the resurfacing of Chris Rock’s interview regarding his sexual and racial assault trauma

Image credits: The Howard Stern Show

The public violence at the Oscars later provoked the resurfacing of Chris Rock’s interview for The Howard Stern Show that took place in 2020. The man revealed his struggles with past traumas due to sexual and racial harassment he faced in his childhood. Rock also shared a story about how he accidentally stumbled upon one of the school bullies during the making of “Top Five”.

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Image credits: The Howard Stern Show

The man told Howard Stern that he suffers from a big ego but very low self-esteem. If someone has anything to say about his work, the comedian could get very defensive, however – most of the time, he feels like he’s not worthy of anything. Stern supported the comedian with his words by saying that he’s no different and that he believes that it all comes from the atmosphere that one had back at home.

Image credits: The Howard Stern Show

Rock confirmed the words of the radio personality and said that it definitely comes from the relationship that one has with his parents. Moreover, the comedian established a connection between him and Stern, as he went to a white school, whereas Howard went to a black one – so they share a somewhat similar experience. Chris then talked about how he believes that he has dealt with that agonizing trauma, since he writes jokes about it – yet, it’s absolutely not true.

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Image credits: The Howard Stern Show

Chris revealed the heartbreaking truth that he was frequently assaulted, sometimes even sexually. Stern then asked whether he remembers the names of those who mistreated him back at school, to which the comedian replied with a story. In 2014, Rock was directing and simultaneously starring in a movie called “Top Five”. One day during filming, he realized that one of his bullies was actually working as security on set.

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Image credits: The Howard Stern Show

However, the man didn’t let his past traumas surface, even though it was the guy who had the audacity to turn him upside down and shake the money out of his pockets. Rock revealed that the universe did everything for him and it’s a shame because they could’ve been friends instead. The old bully had to endure seeing Chris at his best, directing the movie and simply enjoying life.

Image credits: The Howard Stern Show

Having such a public life is never easy. Things can go south at any moment and the next thing you know – the whole world has turned against you. Similarly, you can never be sure what the person is going through, so maybe it’s a good idea to cut them some slack?

You can watch the interview here:

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Fellow online users voiced their support for the comedian

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Darja Zinina

Darja Zinina

Author, Community member

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Darja is a Content Creator at Bored Panda. She studied at the University of Westminster, where she got her Bachelor's degree in Contemporary Media Practice. She loves photography, foreign music and re-watching Forrest Gump.

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Darja Zinina

Darja Zinina

Author, Community member

Darja is a Content Creator at Bored Panda. She studied at the University of Westminster, where she got her Bachelor's degree in Contemporary Media Practice. She loves photography, foreign music and re-watching Forrest Gump.

Saulė Tolstych

Saulė Tolstych

Author, Community member

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Saulė is a photo editor at Bored Panda with bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Computer Design. The thing that relaxes her the best is going into YouTube rabbit hole. In her free time she loves painting, embroidering and taking walks in nature.

Read less »

Saulė Tolstych

Saulė Tolstych

Author, Community member

Saulė is a photo editor at Bored Panda with bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Computer Design. The thing that relaxes her the best is going into YouTube rabbit hole. In her free time she loves painting, embroidering and taking walks in nature.

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UpQuarkDownQuark
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t know enough about Chris Rock to feel one or the other about him, and the joke was tacky. But Smith is absolute piece of sh*t for doing what he did. I do know that Rock was bullied as a kid, and that never, NEVER leaves you. Just watching it has me swimming in anxiety, reliving all my own childhood shame and humiliation. When Smith is assaulted by a man twice his directly in front of thousands of people and in front millions on television and the internet, he can talk about being a “work in progress.” In the meantime he’s just a pile of sh*t. (Edited to add) Rock didn’t compare her to a comical bald character, but G.I. Jane. That’s a movie about a fearless, badass woman.

Carlota
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Will slapping Chris was wrong AND Chris making fun of Jada's alopecia which is an autoimmune disease is also wrong.

Question everything
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

CR commented on Jada's hairstyle, not her alopecia. And he compared her to the cool GI Jane. And WS laughed his aß off to start with; he tried to make up for it in front of his wife. If instead of physical attack he asked CR to apologise he'd be the bigger man. Now he's just a violent sod in my eyes.

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Paul Davis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sure we would like to compare his story with the stories of Asians, people with hair loss, and other groups he thinks are fair game about the abuse they have suffered from nasty people who thought jokes like his were a good excuse to beat them up, discriminate against them, and hurt in other ways. Screw Will Smith, too, they both set back the image of black men everywhere. I have met many people who thought it was fine for cops to shoot African-Americans for no good reason because of "how violent they are". It sucks to ask a group to be more of a model than the dominant group, but it sure as hell doesn't help to provide examples for the bigots to point at.

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UpQuarkDownQuark
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don’t know enough about Chris Rock to feel one or the other about him, and the joke was tacky. But Smith is absolute piece of sh*t for doing what he did. I do know that Rock was bullied as a kid, and that never, NEVER leaves you. Just watching it has me swimming in anxiety, reliving all my own childhood shame and humiliation. When Smith is assaulted by a man twice his directly in front of thousands of people and in front millions on television and the internet, he can talk about being a “work in progress.” In the meantime he’s just a pile of sh*t. (Edited to add) Rock didn’t compare her to a comical bald character, but G.I. Jane. That’s a movie about a fearless, badass woman.

Carlota
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Will slapping Chris was wrong AND Chris making fun of Jada's alopecia which is an autoimmune disease is also wrong.

Question everything
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

CR commented on Jada's hairstyle, not her alopecia. And he compared her to the cool GI Jane. And WS laughed his aß off to start with; he tried to make up for it in front of his wife. If instead of physical attack he asked CR to apologise he'd be the bigger man. Now he's just a violent sod in my eyes.

Load More Replies...
Paul Davis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm sure we would like to compare his story with the stories of Asians, people with hair loss, and other groups he thinks are fair game about the abuse they have suffered from nasty people who thought jokes like his were a good excuse to beat them up, discriminate against them, and hurt in other ways. Screw Will Smith, too, they both set back the image of black men everywhere. I have met many people who thought it was fine for cops to shoot African-Americans for no good reason because of "how violent they are". It sucks to ask a group to be more of a model than the dominant group, but it sure as hell doesn't help to provide examples for the bigots to point at.

Load More Comments
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