Everything the ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Cast Have Said About Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars

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Everything the 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' Cast Have Said About Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars

Sharing their thoughts. Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars ignited a conversation — including from the Philadelphia native's The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air costars. During the 94th annual Academy Awards on March 27, Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith where he joked about her joining G.I. Jane 2. The Girls Trip actress, who previously revealed that she has alopecia, rolled her eyes at the comment about her shaved head. In response, her husband walked up to the stage and slapped the comedian. “Will Smith just smacked the s—t out of me,” the South Carolina native said in censored footage that later circulated online. The King Richard star returned to his seat while yelling at Rock multiple times to “keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth." After winning the award for best actor later that night, Smith addressed the shocking situation in his emotional acceptance speech. “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people. I know to do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse," he said at the time. "You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you got to smile, you got to pretend like that’s OK.” The Suicide Squad actor also apologized to Rock directly on social media, writing via Instagram, "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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." Pinkett Smith, for her part, seemingly reacted to the incident when she shared an Instagram quote, which read, "This is a season for healing and I'm here for it." [jwplayer FBe1bnOE-zhNYySv2] Amid major backlash, Smith received support from his family and former cast members. Janet Hubert, who was previously in a feud with Smith, praised the I Am Legend actor for his accomplishment at the Oscars. “There is only so much one can take ... sometimes you have to slap back. Celebrate the win ... nothing else matters," she wrote via Instagram on March 28. The social media support came after Smith and Hubert discussed their past issues during the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air HBO Max special. "We never really publicly talk about Janet and what happened," the Gemini Man star said in November 2020 before hugging the Chicago native who originated the role of Aunt Viv. "For me, it felt like I couldn't celebrate 30 years of Fresh Prince without finding a way to celebrate Janet. So she agreed to sit down and have a conversation with me. And Janet and I saw one another for the first time in 27 years yesterday." At the time, Hubert got candid about the difficulties she was dealing with ahead of her departure in 1993. "During that third season when I got pregnant, there [were] a lot of things going on in my life and Will's life as well," she recalled during a talk with Smith. "Home life was not good at all. I was no longer laughing, smiling, joking because there were things going on that nobody knew about. [The] cast had no idea what was going on." Smith admitted that he would have approached the situation "very differently" if he had the knowledge he has now, saying, "I can see where I made the set very difficult for Janet." Scroll down for everything past and present Fresh Prince of Bel-Air stars have said about Smith's altercation: [podcast_block]

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DJ Jazzy Jeff

DJ Jazzy Jeff, who recorded music with Smith and appeared as Jazz on Fresh Prince, defended his former costar during an April interview with Chicago radio station 107.5 WCGI. "Don't get it twisted that this was something that he was proud of. It was a lapse in judgment," the producer said. "I think the thing that I've realized is I don't know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should've smacked the s–t out of somebody and he didn't. So, for him to have a lapse in judgment, he's human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don't think people like that are human."

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Tatyana Ali

"I love [Will Smith] very much. [But] Chris Rock didn’t deserve to be hit. Period," Ali, who played Ashley Banks in the original sitcom, tweeted on April 3. "My heart aches for what has happened. I don’t know what caused that chaos & confusion, but I do know that Will has a big heart. I’ve seen him many times try his best to do what is right. I believe in him."

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Janet Hubert

The Illinois native, who played Vivian from 1990 to 1993, praised Smith for his acceptance speech at the Oscars.

“There is only so much one can take ... sometimes you have to slap back,” she continued, referring to the altercation, in a since-deleted Instagram post. “Celebrate the win ... nothing else matters. Both actions were incorrect but Chris didn’t need to go there. Met him once ... it was enough for me ... very mean spirited.”

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Joseph Marcell

“The most important thing about that night was the fact that Will won the best actor Oscar, and not many people talk about that," Marcell, who took on the role of Geoffrey Butler, told The Londoner on April 3. “I know Will Smith and I love him.”

The Saint Lucia native noted that he only had fond memories of his time on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, adding, “Because we were all newcomers to an American television audience we supported each other."

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Jabari Banks

In February 2022, Smith teamed up with Peacock on a reboot of the original Fresh Prince of Bel-Air show. After scoring the role of Will Smith in Bel-Air, Banks applauded the executive producer for his "incredible" acceptance speech at the Oscars.

"It’s what he said, you have to protect your family," Banks told Entertainment Tonight at Vanity Fair's annual Oscars party on March 27. "I believe in him, and what he stands for. He’s a standup guy. I’ll stick by him."

Banks also pointed out that it was important to celebrate Smith's win instead of the incident on stage. "When he won it, it was such an emotional moment in general,” he added about Smith winning his first Oscar. "I knew it was him. I already said, it’s already written. I believed it and he manifested it. And his work has proved it throughout the years. He deserved it."