“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin insists that a viral moment from the Oscars between Will Smith and Chris Rock was an example of “toxic masculinity.”
During a segment on Monday, the co-hosts discussed the altercation that occurred during the Oscars.
“I think that when you live publicly, you don’t have the right to all of a sudden decide to execute violence,” Hostin said.
She continued, “And I have to say, that was a show of toxic masculinity. If he was offended and felt emasculated…by Chris Rock’s joke, you don’t act out in violence. That is not a show of love. That’s a show of violence.”
Watch the video below:
The View's @Sunny Hostin calls Will Smith slapping Chris Rock "a show of toxic masculinity":
— The Recount Alt (@therecountalt) March 28, 2022
"That is not a show of love. That's a show of violence." pic.twitter.com/akRQriiRF8
During the Oscars on Sunday night, Rock made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, because of her shaved head.
“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 smacked Rock.
Upon returning to his seat, he could be heard saying, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
Co-host Ana Navarro chimed in about the incident on Monday, “It was a joke. It was a lame joke. It was a joke in very poor taste. So in context, Jada Smith has alopecia, and that’s why she shaved her head. She’s been very public about it. She’s been very vulnerable about it.”
“That’s what the joke was about, and also in context, in 2016, Chris Rock had also, in a monologue in the Oscars taken a shot at Jada. That being said, nothing, nothing, nada, zero, condones violence in this form,” she added.
Later on Sunday night, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, tweeted, “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.”
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
The Los Angeles Police Department reports that Rock is not pressing charges against Will Smith.
