“I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse."
Editor's note: This article was originally published on March 30, 2022. It has since been updated.
While Chris Rock's joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia was distasteful, people can't help but commend him for the way he handled himself after Will Smith smacked him in front of millions of people during the 2022 Oscars. However, Jim Carrey says he would have had a much different reaction to the incident, had he been in place of Rock. Speaking to CBS News’ Gayle King a day after the incident, on March 28, 2022, the actor said he would have immediately filed a hefty lawsuit against the Best Actor winner, according to US Magazine.
“I’d have announced this morning that I was suing Will for $200 million,” said Carrey, 60. “Because that video’s gonna be there forever. It’s gonna be ubiquitous. That insult is gonna last a very long time.” The Dumb and Dumber star then went on to say that he was also appalled by the audience’s seemingly positive reaction to Smith, despite the slap. “I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation,” he said. “I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. And it really felt like this is a really clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.”
Responses to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars have been divided — but Jenna Wortham (@jennydeluxe) says most people don’t have the full story of the incident.
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 29, 2022
“It’s something of a magnitude that I don’t think can be worked out on a public stage,” she says. pic.twitter.com/5qXIq30Y1F
Carrey then said that he believes the real reason why Rock, 57, decided not to press charges against Smith, 53, was because “he doesn’t want the hassle.” He also mentioned how Smith could have come up with so many different ways to show how he disapproved of the joke instead of striking the comedian. “If you wanna yell from the audience and disapprove … or say something on Twitter or whatever [, go ahead],” he argued. “You do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face ’cause they said words.”
While King, 67, agreed with Carrey’s sentiment, she said she felt the situation “escalated to that level.”
“It didn’t escalate. It came out of nowhere because Will has something going on inside him that’s frustrated,” he fired back. “And I wish him the best, I really do. I don’t have anything against Will Smith. He’s done great things, but that was not a good moment.”
Jim Carrey says Will Smith “should’ve been” escorted out of the #Oscars after he slapped Chris Rock: “I was sickened. I was sickened by the standing ovation. Hollywood is just spineless en masse. This is an indication we aren’t the cool club anymore.”
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) March 29, 2022
(https://t.co/tffXDXMNAu) pic.twitter.com/jtZr7uqGW6
Carrey argued that the incident “cast a pall over everybody’s shining moment,” especially those who “worked really hard” to finally take home a win.
“It is no mean feat to go through all the stuff you have to go through when you’re nominated for an Oscar,” he explained. “It’s a gauntlet of devotion that you have to do. It was just a selfish moment that cast a pall over the whole thing.” The shocking incident—which was not scripted—is currently being investigated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
References:
https://twitter.com/CBSMornings/status/1508777057735565313?s=20&t=RX15rjCoS2-tQEtlZ0Fzmg
https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/jim-carrey-i-would-have-sued-will-smith-for-200m-after-slap/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photos By (L) Jon Kopaloff (R) Neilson Barnard
