Will Smith fans say 1973 Oscars , John Wayne tried to attack Sacheen Littlefeather & Clint Eastwood openly mocked her.
Will Smith’s fans have rushed to his defense after many deemed his violent outburst Sunday night as one of the “ugliest moments” in Oscars history.
The ‘I am Legend’ star slapped veteran comedian Chris Rock on stage for cracking a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith at the 94th Academy Awards held at Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 27. Rock was on stage to present the award for Best Documentary Film when he decided to poke fun at Jada’s shaved head, which is allegedly a result of her suffering from an autoimmune dise ase.
When Rock said she could star in “G.I. Jane 2”, Smith walked onto the stage, slapped Rock in the face, and walked back to his seat. “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—–g mouth,” he yelled at Rock. Smith later apologized for his shocking act, although notably not to Rock. Jada’s shaved head is reportedly a result of alopecia, an illness she is battling.
Smith faced quite the backlash for resorting to violence against Rock over a joke. The Hollywood star was also slammed for portraying himself as the victim while accepting Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. However, his fans appeared to defend his behavior by comparing the incident to the 1973 Oscars when Irish American actor John Wayne had to be held back by security during Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather’s speech for Marlon Brando’s Best Actor win.
“People talking about ‘the Oscar’s ugliest moment.’ Some perspective… John Wayne was held back by six security guys because he was trying to get on stage to hit this woman,” one fan tweeted.
“John Wayne tried to assault Sacheen Littlefeather at the 1973 Oscars. But let’s keep talking about how the “slapping incident” was the award show’s most violent episode ever,” another wrote.
“People are so weird. John Wayne had to be held back from attacking a Native woman activist at the Oscars for accepting an away for Marlon Brando and using the moment to be political. I’m not mad at Will Smith for smacking an equal-grown man for dissing his wife,” someone else offered.