Jimmy Kimmel has praised Chris Rock for the way he handled being struck by Will Smith at the Oscars.
The King Richard actor hit the comic on stage at the Academy Awards on Sunday after taking offense to a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair — she has been open about her struggles with alopecia — and Kimmel was impressed with Rock’s reaction to the incident.
Speaking on Monday’s episode of his talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” he said: “Chris Rock handled it as well as he could possibly handle being slapped on stage at the Oscars. He didn’t even flinch when Will slapped him. I would have been crying so hard.”
The host also suggested the infamous strike will never be forgotten and likened it to boxer Mike Tyson biting rival Evander Holyfield’s ears during a fight in 1997.
The 54-year-old star added: “It’s now a part of our life forever, we will never stop talking about this. It was so shocking. The only thing I can really compare it to is when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ears.”
In reference to Kanye West invading the stage at the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards to protest Taylor Swift’s victory, Kimmel quipped: “Even Kanye was like, ‘You went on stage and did what at the award show?'”
Kimmel felt that it was strange that Smith “initially laughed” at Rock’s joke before the strike.
The talk show host said: “But then he must have looked over and saw that Jada was not amused and is like, ‘Uh oh, I better do something’. And boy did he do something.
“In one stunning moment, the guy went from #Oscarssowhat to #Oscarssowhaaaat?!?!?! No one could have predicted the most
controversial movie of 2022 would be ‘G.I. Jane’, but it was.
“This was the Hollywood version of your drunk uncle starting a fight, ruining the wedding and then standing up and giving a long toast to the bride and groom.”
Kimmel also joked that none of the audience — including the stars who play superheroes — did anything to help at the moment.
He quipped: “No one did anything. Nobody lifted a finger. Spider-Man was there. Aquaman was there. Catwoman, all sitting on their hands. Nobody helped Chris Rock.”
