Remember Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars? March 27th, 2022 was an iconic date for Hollywood that will be etched in the history of entertainment for a long time. In an electrifying and completely unexpected moment, Will Smith stormed onto the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face after the latter joked about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss condition. In solidarity with Chris Rock, who is part of the comedy fraternity, Joe Rogan was having none of it.
After the infamous, shocking moment, there were audible gasps, silence, and awe, but no one stood up for Rock. Sometime later in the evening, Smith won an Oscar, and everything went back to normal as if nothing happened. What did Joe Rogan say about this recently? He called it “gross.”
Rogan recalled the infamous Oscar moment in his last conversation with Paul Rosolie on #2209 of JRE . Here’s what the comedian/podcaster said, “I get it that it helps your movie sell and if it’s an Oscar Academy Award winner. And I get that people are celebrated for great work, I get all that. It’s awesome but it’s also gross, you know. And when it was revealed to be gross when Chris Rock was on stage and Will Smith slapped him and then a few minutes later Will Smith won an Academy Award getting a standing ovation after he assaulted a guy in front of everybody. It just shows you there is no ethical moral structure to the way these people are living their lives.”
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via Imago MMA: UFC 274-Cortez vs Gatto, May 7, 2022; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; UFC host Joe Rogan during UFC 274 at Footprint Center.
He pointed out the thin line that seprarates art and entertainment and how things tend to get shallow and contrived because of it. Paul Rosolie who is also an American conservationist pointed out that this was also the case of group hypnosis where – in this case, the audience did not know how to react, and just went along with the incident that evening like nothing happened. He said, “But that’s also like group hypnosis. If that happened in any of the situations, everybody was just like ‘I don’t know what to do (while clapping).’”
A perpetual critique of Hollywood elites, the 94th Oscars served as the perfect moment for him to unleash his vitriol. While criticizing Hollywood and the likes of Will Smith, the UFC commentator stood by Chris Rock and had high praise for the comedian/actor.
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Joe Rogan praised Chris Rock for his comeback
The comedian and UFC color commentator had Adam Sandler on his show in episode #2187. In an intriguing discussion, the duo spoke about the controversy surrounding the slap that might have bolstered Chris Rock’s career. Rock was pretty resilient in the face of the humiliation and emerged with newfound gravitas and Rogan praised Chris Rock’s response to the slap incident.
Adam Sandler, who was a guest on the podcast, remarked, “His live special was f**k, I loved it.” Rogan went on to describe how Chris Rock became even more formidable after the slap incident. He added, “It was like was the best thing that ever happened to him because then he became wild again. It was outrageous; it was like the old Rock.”
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In the Netflix special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage that came out in 2023, Rock directly addressed the Smith family, particularly referencing Jada Pinkett Smith’s admitted affair with singer August Alsina, which Will Smith publicly discussed in Red Table Talk.
What do you think about Joe Rogan’s stance on Hollywood and particularly what happened at the 94th Oscars? Do you think his scathing critiques of the Hollywood establishment are justified, given his stature, fame, wealth, and position of influence? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below.