03-29-2022, 02:18 PM
It might have been staged, but I don't think Will Smith knew anything was coming, and I think Chris Rock knew he was going to infuriate Will Smith as directed, on purpose...
But I don't think that the hit itself was fake, the sound wasn't fake, and Chris's sort of shaken behavior afterward when he's trying to get back on track was real. He said "We're here to give a documentary out" instead of award, etc. You can tell all of that was "real" in so much as Chris Rock didn't know Will Smith would actually sock him.
So my position is that Will Smith didn't know and wasn't expecting anything. If he was, he knew very little. Chris Rock was told to make this joke, knew that it would infuriate Will Smith and make a splash in the headlines, but didn't know he'd get as pissed as he did. The thing is, whoever made Rock tell the joke "or else" KNEW that Will would have the reaction he did (a violent one).
But I don't think that the hit itself was fake, the sound wasn't fake, and Chris's sort of shaken behavior afterward when he's trying to get back on track was real. He said "We're here to give a documentary out" instead of award, etc. You can tell all of that was "real" in so much as Chris Rock didn't know Will Smith would actually sock him.
So my position is that Will Smith didn't know and wasn't expecting anything. If he was, he knew very little. Chris Rock was told to make this joke, knew that it would infuriate Will Smith and make a splash in the headlines, but didn't know he'd get as pissed as he did. The thing is, whoever made Rock tell the joke "or else" KNEW that Will would have the reaction he did (a violent one).
