Tiffany Haddish Defends Will Smith After Oscars Controversy With Chris Rock

The beautiful dresses and gold statuettes weren't the only things that made big news at the 2022 Oscars. After Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith during his speech, her husband Will Smith shocked viewers both in the audience and at home when he left his seat and walked up to the stage to slap Chris Rock. Many celebrities and Hollywood elites have condemned Smith's actions, but Tiffany Haddish came to Smith's defense.

Haddish, who presented the Oscar for Best International Film later on in the night, defended Smith in an interview with the People at the Governor's Ball. She said, "When I see a Black man coming to his wife's defense it means a lot to me. It means the world to me. Maybe the world is not happy with what happened, but it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen, because it made me believe that there are still men out there who love and care about their women, their wives. If she hadn't been hurt, he [Will] probably wouldn't have done anything. see how he was obviously… They were upset, she was hurt… He protected his wife."

Rock started his speech by making jokes about the guests, saying: "You know who has the hardest job tonight? Javier Bardem and his wife [Penélope Cruz] - they were both nominated. Now if she loses, he can't win. He's praying for Will Smith to win. Lord." Turning to the Smith family, he said, "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it."  

In 1997, Demi Moore starred as G.I. Jane and was bald in the film. In 2018, Pinkett Smith revealed she was struggling with alopecia, an autoimmune disease that caused her hair to fall out. Needless to say, the King Richard actor thought the joke about his wife was in bad taste.