Chris Rock joked about Muhammad Ali backstage after Will Smith slap
Will Smith.The comedian was struck by the actor following a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. In 2018, Pinkett Smith revealed she has alopecia.A Vanity Fair awards insider has since reported that Rock tried to downplay the situation as he exited the stage, nodding to Smith’s Oscar-nominated turn as the boxer in 2001’s Ali.“When Chris Rock walked back to the wings of the stage with the winners, his cheek was red, but he tried to play it off to the gobsmacked crew and fellow presenters by making a joke about one of Will Smith’s other Oscar-nominated roles,” they wrote.“One witness said he remarked loudly, ‘That’s the only time you get hit my Muhammad Ali and it doesn’t leave a scratch.’”Will Smith has since issued a formal apology to Rock via his Instagram page.