The shocking moment when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face is still a trending topic on social media. However, Smith’s former castmate shared her thoughts on the controversial incident.
Tatyana Ali, who played Ashley Banks on the ’90s hit sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, took to Twitter on Sunday and expressed how she felt after witnessing the altercation at the Academy Awards. Ali explained that even though she still loves and supports Smith, his actions were unacceptable.
“I love #WillSmith very much. @chrisrock didn’t deserve to be hit. Period,” Ali wrote.
She continued, “My heart aches for what has happened. I don’t know what caused that chaos & confusion, but I do know that Will has a big heart. I’ve seen him many times try his best to do what is right. I believe in him.”
I love #WillSmith very much. @chrisrock didn’t deserve to be hit. Period. My heart aches for what has happened. I don’t know what caused that chaos & confusion, but I do know that Will has a big heart. I’ve seen him many times try his best to do what is right. I believe in him.
— Tatyana Ali (@TatyanaAli) April 3, 2022
While some Twitter users agreed with the 43-year-old, others criticized Smith for his actions and predicted his career in Hollywood would be over.
“I’m team Will. Years of receiving verbal abuse and bullying guised as comedy, his reaction was justified. The comedian in question has mocked and bullied too many folks over the decades. Enough is enough,” one user said.
I’m team Will. Years of receiving verbal abuse and bullying guised as comedy, his reaction was justified. The comedian in question has mocked and bullied too many folks over the decades. Enough is enough.
— Keisha W. (@Taurus510W) April 3, 2022
Another user said, “Will has literally been perfect.PERFECT his ENTIRE CAREER! He has one (albeit awful) meltdown, and ppl are ready to burn him at the stake as if he never contributed one of the most highly syndicated wholesome BLACK TV shows, 8 BLOCKBUSTER movies, countless rap songs with zero curse.”
Will has literally been perfect.PERFECT his ENTIRE CAREER!He has one (albeit awful)meltdown and ppl are ready to burn him at the stake as if he never contributed one of the most highly syndicated wholesome BLACK tv shows, 8 BLOCKBUSTER movies, countless rap songs with zero curse
— Bourgie_Bettie (@Prima_donna2163) April 3, 2022
“Come on… People have done far worse and were able to bounce back and have a successful career. To assume that one poor decision will dictate the trajectory of this man’s life is ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes and this is certainly one that Will can grow from,” a third user said.
Come on… People have done far worse and were able to bounce back and have a successful career. To assume that one poor decision will dictate the trajectory of this man’s life is ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes and this is certainly one that Will can grow from.
— Natasha Furse (@natasha_furse) April 3, 2022
Will Smith’s career is toast. His reputation as a beloved actor has been tarnished. I can’t see Hollywood letting this go. Look at Winona Ryder…a wonderful actress. All she did was shoplift some expensive hair accessories and her career was over.
— sweet child O’ mine (@meme_elizabethe) April 3, 2022
Will actions were deplorable on a night that could have been the biggest night of his career. A joke about her bald head. Not about her entanglement ,kids, non career, or her show. Joke did not warrant that reaction. Will showed his ass on the wrong night
— Eve (@1011evelyn) April 3, 2022
What will did was assault. In the real world people go to jail for that. Even if the person don’t press charges, the state will pick it up and press charges, and you’ll be sitting in jail innocent until proven guilty.
— Kent Osbourne (@KentOsbourne) April 3, 2022
Aside from Ali’s statement, another former castmate opened up about the incident. On Friday, Janet Hubert, the original Aunt Viv on the show, addressed the issue with a one-minute video on her Instagram account, Sis2Sis reported.
Love me some Janet Hubert aka Aunt Viv from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. This also goes for you social media trolls 😘 #willsmith #chrisrock #Oscars pic.twitter.com/y3RJHcgRR3
— 🅺🅴🅽🆈🅰 🅼🅾🅾🆁🅴 🆂🆃🅰🅽 (@GossipInformer) March 29, 2022
“Some of y’all need to stop coming for people on the Instagram page and on their Twitter page and whatever, talking that kind of smack you wanna talk, thinking we ain’t gonna smack back,” Hubert said. “Sometimes, you get smacked back. And Will Smith is a grown-a** man, and I am an old-a** grown woman. And he ain’t gonna tell me what to say. I ain’t kissin’ nobody’s a**, but I will kick it. So some y’all need to understand, sometimes you go too far.”
She added, “And just like Will said, we bleed, we hurt from some of the things you sayin’, and you think we supposed to take it. No, we are not. Now, there’ve been quite a few people that I’ve wanted to smack, but I didn’t because if I probably coulda, I would if I coulda.”
The 66-year-old even shared a list of celebrities she would have gotten physical with long ago. “Let’s see Wendy [Williams], Kevin Frazier, Michael Yo, Tamron Hall, quite a few. But I chose to do it verbally. So some of y’all need to stay in your lane and stop telling us what to do.”
While the former castmates shared their thoughts, the Oscars debacle will remain a topic of discussion on all social media platforms.
