Actor Will Smith is being slammed after old footage resurfaced of the actor mocking a bald man. The footage has resurfaced after Smith smacked comedian Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about his wife’s short hair at the Oscars on Sunday night.
“He gotta wax his head every morning,” Smith can be heard saying in footage from a 1991 appearance on The Arsenio Hall Show, pointing to bald bassist John Williams.
“Ah, these are jokes, come on” the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star added in response to the audience’s awkward laughter.
In the wake of Smith hitting Rock on Sunday night over a hair-loss related joke, the video is now circulating on social media, with one Twitter user commenting, “One reason I love the internet, it never forgets.”
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“God bless the internet,” another Twitter user wrote.
“One rule for me, another for thee. Will Smith is fucking pathetic,” another tweeted.
“This is actually worse than the G.I Jane joke,” another Twitter user commented.
Smith is being branded a “hypocrite” by social media users, as the video has resurfaced following the actor’s attack against Rock, who called his wife Jada Pinkett Smith “G.I. Jane” in reference to her short hair, which she has due to alopecia.
It remains unclear if Rock knew about her condition when he made the joke.
Nonetheless, Smith got out of his seat, marched onto the stage, and struck Rock in the face, leaving audience members and viewers shocked. The actor then twice shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth” after retaking his seat in the audience.
***LANGUAGE WARNING***
Later, while giving his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for his performance as Venus and Serena’s father in King Richard, Smith apologized to the Academy Awards and to all of his “fellow nominees” for his actions — but refrained from mentioning Rock in his apology.
The actor was slammed for his behavior, even by many in Hollywood, who also called for Smith to apologize to Rock.
On Monday night, Smith took to social media to apologize yet again, this time, including the comedian in his statement.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” the actor said. “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.”
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.