New Video Shows Surprising Reaction From Jada After Slap

If you've been following the news in the last few days, you've probably bumped into the Oscars incident that's shocked the entertainment world and mainstream news alike. On March 27, 2022, the 94th Academy Awards received plenty of unsavory attention when Chris Rock aimed a "G.I. Jane 2" joke at Jada Pinkett-Smith. Her husband, eventual Best Actor winner Will Smith, reacted violently. He walked up to Rock and slapped the comedian across the face, after which the "Independence Day" star returned to his seat, and repeatedly shouted: "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth." Viewers immediately reacted to the incident, stating that Smith's response to Rock's joke was overblown.  

The fact that this happened in the middle of what's arguably the most prestigious entertainment awards ceremony out there is shocking enough. However, things soon became even more awkward when Smith won the Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for his role in "King Richard." The actor's tearful, emotional and apologetic acceptance speech didn't exactly win fans over, and since then, things have been hectic, to say the least.

While Rock doesn't appear to be pressing charges, the Academy has stated that Smith refused to leave the ceremony after the incident (via The New York Times), and it has launched a formal review of the actor's actions at the Oscars. This means there may still be repercussions for Smith.

Because Will Smith's actions at the awards ceremony were so dramatic, the cameras were quite naturally on him and Rock. However, new footage has now emerged, and it shows that Jada Pinkett-Smith had a rather surprising reaction after the slap. 

As his immediate comments after the incident made abundantly clear, the real reason behind Will Smith's outburst was that Rock's joke was targeted at Jada Pinkett-Smith. She has been open about the fact that she's dealing with a medical condition called alopecia, which causes hair loss. As such, her shaved head was arguably not the greatest target for jokes. 

Now, a brand new angle on the incident has emerged (via the New York Post), and it appears to show that Pinkett-Smith wasn't exactly unhappy about the fact that her husband confronted Rock the way he did. The new footage was posted on influencer DJ Akademiks' Instagram account, and it's shot almost directly behind the table Pinkett-Smith was seated in. From this angle, it seems that Pinkett-Smith was laughing in the immediate aftermath of the slap, as Smith returned to the table.

Though the optics of the situation seem pretty unfortunate, it's of course worth noting that the video shouldn't necessarily be taken as concrete evidence that Pinkett-Smith was gleefully laughing at the fact that her husband physically attacked another human being. The situation as a whole was quick and surreal, and as Healthline notes, laughter can be far more than a reaction to an amusing situation. In fact, it's common for people to laugh in unnerving situations, and let's face it, the Oscar incident was pretty much the definition of unnerving.

Jada Pinkett-Smith has briefly addressed the entire situation on her official Instagram account before the new footage surfaced. "This is a season for healing, and I'm here for it," the post read. 

Pinkett-Smith's husband has been somewhat more vocal about the slapping incident. In an Instagram post, Will Smith confirmed that the joke about Pinkett-Smith's shaved head had indeed been too much for him, and delivered an apology to Chris Rock. "I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris," Smith wrote. "I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be." 

Meanwhile, Chris Rock also addressed the situation in his first stand-up show after the Oscars. He refrained from speaking ill of anyone, and noted that he'll talk about the incident when he's figured out the most appropriate way to do it. "At some point, I'll talk about that s***, and it'll be serious, and it'll be funny," the comedian said.

It seems very likely that the slap incident will remain in the headlines for quite some time, and based on these comments, it seems that everyone involved prefers to tread as carefully as the situation permits in order to avoid further public drama. As such, it's unclear whether the new footage about Pinkett-Smith seemingly laughing in the immediate aftermath of the slap will affect the situation in any way.