Comedian Samantha Bee says she understands why people “hate” Hollywood after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
During an exchange on the “Offline” podcast, Bee told host Jon Favreau she watched the Oscars with her children and “we watched the bit where the host – one of the hosts was like patting down all these men on stage.”
“Called all those actors up and was like patting them down, and I was like ‘ha hey kids,’ you know you’re always trying to impart a boring lesson to your children when you’re watching TV with them. ‘Just so you know, this is fun and all but don’t put your hands on other people,'” she continued.
She added, “Then this big slap and I’m like ‘well, that underlined the premise of my boring lecture.’ Don’t put your hands on people – my god. I’m really trying to not like clutch my pearls, like mommy’s said bad things about people, I can’t deny that, like whatever it’s comedy.”
Listen to the exchange below:
Will Smith's slap makes @iamsambee "understand why people hate Hollywood. Like, boy oh boy, very hatable. Myself included — I’m like 'oh for f*cks sake can you be consistent?' But the answer is no." https://t.co/w73LzfkkSg pic.twitter.com/kCzKLgdZNE
— Mediaite (@Mediaite) April 5, 2022
Favreau went on to share how he felt it was “really strange” that it seemed “easy” for people to “downplay” and “move on” from Smith slapping Rock.
However, Bee disagreed with the assertion that it was easy for people to move on.
“I think people were freaking…probably a lot of people were like really quaking like ‘I don’t know what to do’ like paralyzed with fear,” she said.
Bee added, “Beyond that, it really, really makes me understand why people hate Hollywood. Like, boy oh boy, very hatable.”
“Myself included, I’m like ‘oh for f***s sake can you be consistent,’ but the answer is no. That’s why we peel off and go to bed and read a book during the Academy Awards, folks. That’s a choice you can make,” she concluded.
During the Oscars on Sunday night, comedian Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, because of her hair.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said
As The New York Times notes, Pinkett Smith has alopecia which is a condition that leads to hair loss.
After the joke, Will Smith walked up on stage and slapped Rock.
Smith apologized to Rock and said he was “out of line.”
Comedian Amy Schumer, a co-host of the Oscars, wrote in an Instagram post last week, “Still triggered and traumatized. I love my friend [Chris Rock] and believe he handled it like a pro.”
“So much pain in [Will Smith] anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. Im [sic] proud of myself and my cohosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed,” she added.
