Leslie Odom Jr. on Will Smith Hitting Chris Rock: 'Two Artists … It's Always Beautiful'

Joel B. PollakMarch 28, 2022

Actor and singer Leslie Odom Jr. told Vanity Fair Sunday evening after Oscar winner Will Smith appeared to slap comedian Chris Rock onstage that the shocking spectacle was “a vulnerable moment” between “two artists,” which was “always beautiful.”

Smith initially appeared to laugh after Rock made fun of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, for her alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. Rock suggested that she star in G.I. Jane 2, referring to Demi Moore, who shaved her head in the original.

Then, Smith climbed onstage, walked up to Rock, and struck him in the face before returning to his seat. Rock, stunned, exclaimed: “Wow! Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me!”

Smith, from the audience, yelled: “Keep my wife’s name out your f*ckin’ mouth!”

Rock responded: “Wow, dude! It was a G.I. Jane joke.”

Smith repeated: “Keep my wife’s name out your f*ckin’ mouth!”

“I’m going to, OK? Wow. OK. That was a … greatest night the history of television,” Rock continued.

After the incident, security did not remove Smith, nor was he arrested. He went on to deliver an acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for portraying Richard Williams, father to tennis stars Venus and Serna Williams, in King Richard.

The audience applauded his speech.

Speaking to Vanity Fair afterwards, Odom described the altercation as an authentic and “beautiful” interaction between “artists.”

Leslie Odom Jr. comments on the Will Smith and Chris Rock incident. #VFOscars pic.twitter.com/NOI1ZwK4xZ

— VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) March 28, 2022

“This business can sometimes feel like walking around with your skin ripped off, you know” he said. “It’s a very vulnerable thing. And so, I think we saw two artists, you know, with their hearts open. It’s a vulnerable moment. Sometimes it’s messy, but it’s always beautiful when it’s the truth.”

“Oooh, that was lovely,” an interviewer exclaimed.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.