Girl’s Trip actress Tiffany Haddish shared the sentiment of many Black women after Sunday night’s smacking incident at the 94th Academy Awards between Will Smith and Chris Rock.
The 42-year-old star spoke with People Magazine while at the Governors Ball. She called the contentious moment “beautiful.”
“When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife, that meant so much to me. And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.”
Haddish continued, “As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you.”
She asked, “Would you do that for your wife? Would you say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mother f***ing…’ Like, yes! Yes!”
The Last O.G. star even questioned why Rock would joke about such a touchy subject. Jada Pinkett Smith has been open about her journey with alopecia. And the Good Hair producer made a joke about Jada’s bald head, referencing G.I. Jane (the 1997 film starring Demi Moore where she shaved her hair off for the role).
The inappropriate jab made for a tense moment as Will glided up the stage, slapped Chris and went back to his seat.
Haddish questioned the 57-year-old comedian’s motives for the joke.
“Why would you do that? He didn’t even run the joke by her, but she was hurt though. If she wouldn’t have been hurt, [Will] probably wouldn’t have said nothing. But you could see he was clearly… And they exploited it. They exploited her, so ‘I have to do something’… He protected his wife.”
Sisters online agreed with Haddish.
Jada Pickett-Smith was offended and perhaps humiliated by the “joke” made tonight.
And we’ve been centering the men and their behavior ever since.
I want y’all to read that a few times because it illustrates a lot about how the world handles Black Women’s pain.
— Ki (@jolenemango) March 28, 2022
It’s very telling that the same people that came for Senator Cory Booker for protecting Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson are coming for Will Smith for protecting his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Why don’t they want Black men to protect and uplift Black women?
— Qondi (@QondiNtini) March 28, 2022
Y’all so used to not seeing anybody defending Black women and it shows! Hope this ushers in a new era!!! pic.twitter.com/ZR0J4MuuwH
— Imani Bashir (@SheIsImaniB) March 28, 2022
@janethubertformyfanspage https://t.co/OjJoYBcXOl I cannot tell you how many times I have wanted to slap the mess out of so many folks who have disrespected me. Will stood up for his wife, Chris Rock is always disrespecting Black women. Mean spirited hides behind comedy.BULL
— Janet Hubert (@OGJanetHubert) March 28, 2022
With some Black men putting the emphasis of protection on themselves, Will’s actions were a refreshing welcome for Black women.
