Even if you’re not someone who sets aside Oscar night every year to watch Hollywood talent receive awards for some killer films, performances and other contributions, it’s likely the 2022 Oscars have flown onto your radar. Thanks to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on live TV, it seems like everyone is talking about the awards ceremony, including Smith’s The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star Janet Hubert. The Aunt Vivian actress has reacted to the viral slap by addressing Smith in a blunt and straightforward post.
Now labeled as “the slap that was heard around the world,” what conspired between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars last night has people in one of two camps: either Chris Rock deserved it over what he said about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance, or Will Smith doesn’t know how to take a joke. Janet Hubert apparently feels pretty strongly on where she stands over the incident, and is very much in Smith’s corner on this one. You can read what she had to say below on that subject, as well as him winning an Oscar for his performance in King Richard, below:
So PROUD OF YOU! Yes there is only so much one can take…sometimes you have to slap back. Celebrate the win…nothing else matters. Both actions were incorrect but Chris didn’t need to go there. Met him once… it was enough for me…very mean spirited.
In the caption on her Instagram post that was accompanied by a still from Will Smith’s Best Actor award acceptance speech last night, Janet Hubert expressed some serious love toward Will Smith, saying that she is so very proud of him for standing up for his wife at the Oscars last night. She also said that meeting Chris Rock once was enough for her, which spells out her distaste for the comedian.
Janet Hubert played Will’s Aunt Viv in the first three seasons of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and met him when he was a young actor just coming into himself. After the Fresh Prince of Bel Air-reunion, Hubert revealed that they remain close, so it’s no surprise that she has shown him support in this new viral event.
In her supportive post, Janet Hubert also advised Will Smith to focus on his Oscar win, saying that it is the only thing that matters. She also admits that Chris Rock and Smith both did things that weren’t alright, but recognizes that one can only take so much before they snap (or slap) back.
Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have been plastered all over the media, and their relationship has come into question more than once. The couple recently brushed off questions about their much-publicized relationship at the SAG Awards, and Will Smith later made a statement defending Jada, saying she had never once stepped out of their marriage in infidelity.
It would seem that Will Smith was still in defense mode at the Oscars and wasn’t having anyone making Jada feel badly on such an important night. Smith snagged his very first Oscar win, and he gave an emotional speech on love and the need to protect while accepting the award, which took place after the slap.
You may feel one way or the other about if what Will Smith did was wrong or right, justified or not, but it’s pretty clear that Aunt Viv has Smith’s back, even over 20 years after Fresh Prince. Apparently the Bel-Air family sticks together.