The topic of the now-infamous Oscars slap that was heard around the world has continued to boil over in the months since Will Smith stormed the stage at the event and gave Chris Rock a swift smack across the face.
The assault, which came after the comedian tossed out a bald joke aimed at Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from the hair-loss condition called alopecia, had all of Hollywood and the rest of the world shaking and talking nearly non-stop about it for the subsequent days and weeks that followed, with some taking Will’s side while others criticized the actor for his behavior.
Now, actress Vivica A. Fox, who starred opposite Will in the hit 90’s smash Independence Day, has joined in the chorus, and this time some of the blame has been aimed at Jada herself.
Vivica A. Fox slammed Jada for not taking some responsibility for the Oscars slap
Earlier this week, Jada took to her usual chair for her hit show Red Table Talk and directly addressed her husband’s attack for the very first time since that fateful night back in March.
True to form so far, the Scream 2 actress kept her discussion brief and to the point, taking only just enough time to say, “My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile.”
While the mention may have come across as a sincere wish on her part, Vivica seemed to be having none of it and made sure to voice her disdain for Jada’s words.
Taking some time to join Carson Kressley on The Wendy Williams Show this week, Vivica opened up for a candid and blunt chat that highlighted her true feelings surrounding Jada’s admission.
“This is going to be difficult for me,” Vivica began. “These are my peers. I’ve done a movie with both of them…When I saw [the Red Table Talk video] last night, it made me cry, I’ll be very honest with you guys,” she continued while taking multiple pauses as she got choked up.
“I felt to be a good partner…there was no accountability,” she went on while pointing a metaphorical finger at Jada’s lack of ownership over being the reason behind Will’s decision to hit Chris.
“Will Smith was defending her honor; that’s the reason he walked on stage and slapped because he felt like his wife had been offended,” she said.
Vivica also emotionally reminded the audience that what happened that night was an assault on Chris Rock, concluding with, “I have love for the Smiths. I know their children. I’ve watched them grow up. I just wish that we could have had just a little more accountability…and for it to not seem so self-righteous on Jada’s part, and that’s my feelings.”
Wanda Sykes had harsh words to say about Will following the incident
Among the many other vocal celebs, Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes, who shared the duties alongside Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, also had a lot to say in the days after the attack, sitting down with Ellen Degeneres to chat about what went through her mind as word trickled down that Will had gone after Chris.
The comedian shared that she found out what had happened as she was changing for her next set, saying that she first heard a great commotion coming from the arena, revealing that she saw Will exiting the stage area before someone handed her a phone so she could view the already-viral clip of the actor back-handing Chris.
Wanda told Ellen that it was “gross” on the Academy’s part to allow Will to continue to remain at the event and to later be given a standing ovation for his big Best Actor win for King Richard.