“Yup it hurts,” Tennis ace Martina Navratilova shares her infuriation regarding Will Smith’s slap at Oscar
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Will Smith, Chris Rock and Martina Navratilova
For millennia, black people have been oppressed. Their opinions have been mostly disregarded. However, no matter how progressive people appear to be in the twenty-first century, racism still lurks somewhere in their minds. It was demonstrated when veteran actor Will Smith slapped renowned comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards.
Will Smith rushed on stage to seemingly hit Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, in one of the more odd and frightening moments in Academy Awards history. Rock made a joke about Pinkett-Smith’s Alopecia and said he couldn’t wait to see her in G.I. Jane 2. Soon after his wife expressed her disapproval of the remark, Smith disrupted Rock’s speech for the Best Documentary award by swinging at his face.
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth”- Will Smith
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f*g mouth,” the actor shouted as he returned to his seat. Rock was apparently taken aback by the exchange, but he persevered with his presentation. Smith went on to win the prize award for Best Actor less than an hour later. The actor was recognised for his role as Richard Williams, a controversial tennis coach and parent, in King Richard.
Smith acknowledged the father of Venus and Serena Williams in his winning speech, saying that Richard’s outbursts were not too unlike from the one he had with Chris Rock. “Art imitates life,” Smith said. “I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”
During his speech, Smith appeared noticeably shaken, finally breaking down in tears and recalling how Oscar winner Denzel Washington consoled him during the intermission, saying, “Denzel said to me a few minutes ago, ‘At your highest moment, that’s when the devil comes for you.’” The evening concluded on an unpleasant note, with Jessica Chastain and CODA receiving the evening’s final prizes in the shadow of the altercation.
“Yup, it hurts”- Martina Navratilova
Martina Navratilova, a tennis legend, is a force to be reckoned with on and off the field. Not shying to speak up and rouse controversy, the 18-time Grand Slam champion has always been a staunch critic of the wrongdoings. She is also praised for inspiring a new generation of athletes to be unashamedly themselves, embrace physical power, and speak out for what they believe in.
The former World No. 1 resorted to Twitter to express her thoughts on the current contentious situation at the Oscars 2022. She emphasised the incident in which Will Smith, who is African-American, slapped fellow African-American renowned comedian Chris Rock. According to her, “Will Smith didn’t slap just Chris Rock… yup. It hurts.” However, it’s clear from her statement that ‘Navrat the brat’ refers to how people pull down their own people, whether it’s in the instance of Will Smith or in any other situation.
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Pritha Ghosh
(414 Articles Published)