The Oscars

Chris Rock deserved to be slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars last year, and he may even be due for another round -- so suggests one writer who focuses on Black issues.

The Root's Candace McDuffie -- a senior editorial staffer for the G/O Media-owned online publication -- came on CNN to discuss the aftermath of Chris' Netflix special ... where he eviscerated Will and Jada Pinkett Smith for the hit seen around the world in 2022.

According to her, Chris was simply being held accountable by Will at the time for attacking a Black woman -- which McDuffie says is part of a larger pattern in this country, and which she says Chris has been guilty of in his comedy even before targeting Jada's alopecia.

As for how she feels about Chris' response nearly a full 365 days later ... well, the way she's talking here -- it almost sounds like she's just as angry with Chris yet again, saying he called Jada out of her name (he didn't once say her name, but did call her a "bitch" and refer to her as a "predator" in the special). In McDuffie's eyes, CR hasn't learned his lesson.

Don Lemon ever-so-gently pushed back on McDuffie, asking how she would respond to people who might say she's advocating for violence with this take ... and that Chris should, perhaps, be afforded a pass since he was going after Jada/Will in a stand-up comedy environment.

Her final thought is this ... as much pain as Will was in during the Oscars slap -- which Chris also addressed -- McDuffie feels like Chris was hurting just as much during his own special. She says there was more rage and resentment than there was humor ... from her POV.

Of course, this view isn't exclusive to McDuffie. There are many online who feel like Chris had the slap coming -- and even more who aren't happy that he continued to tear Will/Jada down for the sake of retribution and a laugh. On the flip side, just as many loved it.🤷🏽‍♂️

Jeff Ross says Chris Rock is walking away with the 'W' in the Will Smith Oscars slap saga -- and he commends his friend doing so without using his hands, just a silver tongue.

We got the comedian Monday in L.A. after he'd flown back from Chris' live special in Baltimore ... and he said the whole event was just as epic as it looked and sounded on TV.

Jeff, the famed roast master, says Chris got the better of Will and Jada Pinkett Smith in the end ... and he's pretty high on how Chris handled it, even if it did take a year to address. However, he points out the special touched on a lot more than just the Smiths ... and he was impressed by its overall message.

He did have a fave bit, BTW ... the one about Beyonce and Jay-Z, which he says might be the joke of the year. We can't do it justice here -- you gotta see the special -- but it's basically about Bey being so hot she could get Jay no matter what her job was. Not so much for him, though.

Rock addressed the elephant in the room Saturday night during his live Netflix special, "Selective Outrage," leaving no doubt that he's still pissed at Smith for smackin' him on live TV as the world watched.

The comedian launched into the segment this way...“You all know what happened to me, getting smacked by 'Suge' Smith, everybody knows, everybody f--king knows. I got smacked like a year ago… And people are like ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts. I got ‘Summertime’ ringing in my ears.”

But, don't ever ask Rock to sit for an interview with Oprah Winfrey or Gayle King 'cause he ain't doing it. “I’m not a victim baby, you will never see me on Oprah or Gayle crying. You will never see it…. It’s never going to happen. F--k that s--t, I took that s--t like Pacquiao" -- a reference to boxer Manny Pacquiao.

Rock also compared his situation with Smith to David and Goliath. He said Smith was a lot bigger than him and even played Muhammad Ali in a movie. "You think I auditioned for that? I played Pookie in ‘New Jack City.’ I played a piece of corn in ‘Pootie Tang,'" Rock joked.

Then Rock skewered Smith's wife, Jada, accusing her of doing something "f--king lowdown" by having an affair with her son's friend -- and then discussing it with her husband on her Red Table Talk.

Rock said, "We’ve all been cheated on, everybody in here been cheated on. None of us has ever been interviewed by the person who cheated on us on television… Why the f--k would you do that s--t? She hurt [Will] way more than he hurt me."

Continuing along those lines, Rock said, "Everybody called [Will] a bitch. And who’s he hit? Me! A n**** he know he can beat. That’s some bitch ass sh--!”

Rock said he didn't strike Smith back "because I’ve got parents! And you know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people!”

The funnyman wrapped it up with...“They say, ‘words hurt.' You gotta watch what you say because ‘words hurt.’ Anybody who says ‘words hurt’ has never been punched in the face."

Sounds like Will still has more work to do to patch things up with Chris.

Chris Rock is set to talk about the Oscars slap tonight in a new comedy special, but some of his material appears to have already leaked ... including a joke about watching Will Smith suffer on film -- which, if the internet is to be believed, he'd be wise in avoiding.

Here's the deal ... we all know Chris' live Netflix show is going down tonight, and everyone's expecting him to discuss the slap at length for the first time, publicly, on his own terms. The problem ... he's been working out his jokes on this topic for months, and one particular bit he recently did about Will was widely reported this week ... and Twitter ain't feeling it.

The Baltimore Sun came out with a story about a comedy show Chris did there in mid-February ... where he reportedly touched on the Oscars and said to the crowd, "The other day, I watched 'Emancipation' just so I could watch him getting whipped."

Of course, he's referring to Will's character from the film -- a runaway slave named "Whipped Peter" who was infamously depicted in a photo from the 1800s with scars on his back.

That quote has made the rounds these past few days, and now ... Chris Rock is trending for all the wrong reasons, because it seems a good majority of folks have turned on him.

Whereas he had sympathy in the wake of the slap -- especially for how he handled it -- a lot of time has passed ... and a lot of people have aired their grievances about Chris since then ... including the notion that he might've had it coming -- harsh, but it's a POV out there.

Now, in light of this new joke that may or may not make the special ... even more people are groaning, especially if he actually works it in. It appears some feel like leaning in the way he seems set to do is overkill -- and not just that, but many feel him exploiting the ugly moment a full year later is cringeworthy. And yet, Chris is powering forward ... as is Netflix.

Time will tell what Chris does onstage. Like we said, this is live -- but if he cares about public opinion (which he usually doesn't) he might wanna peep Twitter right quick.😬

Chris Rock is finally ready to talk all about the infamous Oscars slap -- he'll address it during a live comedy special ... which, coincidentally, comes just as Will Smith accepts an award for the first time since that night.

The comedian's Netflix special will be live-streamed Saturday night, and The Wall Street Journal reports when Chris did a set to prep for the event ... he opened up about Will's infamous attack.

Chris said, "The thing people want to know ... did it hurt? Hell yeah, it hurt. He played Muhammad Ali! I played Pookie!" -- referring to each of their respective roles in "Ali" and "New Jack City."

Of course, it's unclear how much of those specific words will end up in the final product, because Chris is performing his set live ... but even Netflix says he'll talk about the incident.

Talk about odd timing -- as promos for Chris' special are everywhere, Will was on stage Wednesday night in Beverly Hills for the African-American Film Critics Association Awards. He accepted the Beacon Award with "Emancipation" director, Antoine Fuqua.

Will made no reference -- joking or otherwise -- to the Oscars incident, and instead spoke only about playing the escaped slave, "Whipped Peter," and said it was the "most difficult film of my entire career."

The folks over at the Oscars have gone all "Zero Dark Thirty" ... creating a "crisis team" in case someone goes all Will Smith during the ceremony. Thing is ... what the hell will they do?

According to Academy honchos, "We have a whole crisis team, something we've never had before, and many plans in place. We've run many scenarios. So it is our hope that we will be prepared for anything that we may not anticipate right now but that we’re planning for just in case it does happen."

The idea is that the crisis team can quickly assemble and decide what action they'll take if someone or something gets out of hand.

It seems the idea might be to yank someone off the stage or boot them from the auditorium if they do something really untoward. As a matter of fact, the Prez of the Academy recently expressed regret her org didn't take some sort of action when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.

We're guessing the idea might be to order Will out of the building quickly ... it was super embarrassing the Academy let Will ride out the show, and accept an Oscar to the applause of many.

But here's the deal ... these moments happen quickly, and to expect a committee of any sort to reach a decision in minutes or, more appropriately, seconds during a live TV broadcast is a giant stretch.

Viola Davis just joined an exclusive club in the world of entertainment ... becoming the 18th EGOT winner in history, this after snagging a Grammy and giving a helluva reaction.

The actress was up for Best Audio Book, Narration, and Storytelling Recording for the narration on her memoir, "Finding Me," which was just selected as the winner during the pre-broadcast show that's underway right now.

She went up there for her acceptance speech and got a roaring applause when she said emphatically and quite simply, "I just EGOT!" Indeed, she did ... and now, she's on the list.

Viola joins 17 others who came before her, including two other Black women ... Whoopi Goldberg, who received the honor in 2002 with her Tony award, and Jennifer Hudson -- who hit that milestone last year with her own Tony.

Other EGOT recipients include John Legend, Mel Brooks, Audrey Hepburn, Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, John Gielgud, Jonathan Tunick, Marvin Hamlisch, Scott Rudin, Mike Nichols, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Robert Lopez, Tim Rice and Alan Menken.

Viola, of course, won an Oscar for her work in "Fences," two Tonys for "Fences" (the theatrical play) and "King Hedley II," an Emmy for "How To Get Away with Murder" ... and now this.

Emmett Till's family is saddened and stunned the Motion Picture Academy overlooked the film about this tragic and pivotal story in American history ... and it did so in every Oscar category.

Emmett's cousin and cofounder of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation, Deborah Watts, tells TMZ ... the family is extremely disappointed the movie "Till" and its lead actress Danielle Deadwyler -- who plays Emmett's mom -- received zero nominations.

Deborah says Danielle "embodied and delivered the true essence of our cousin, a loving and courageous mother, Mamie Till Mobley. She reached deeply and poured her heart and soul in this role as she embraced us intimately like no other, while transforming into Mamie and bringing her true essence and story to life."

As you know, the film tells the story of Emmett's 1955 abduction and lynching in Mississippi ... which sent shockwaves across the nation when a photo of his brutally beaten body was made public.

The family's sentiment about Danielle being snubbed falls in line with a social media trend -- folks pointing out no Black women were nominated in the Best Actor category ... and this wouldn't be the first time.

Some users noted Viola Davis was another worthy contender for her performance in the box office hit, "The Woman King".

Going forward, Deborah says "The Emmett Till Legacy Family and community of supporters will ensure Emmett and Mamie's legacies and story will continue to be told with or without any awards."

Danielle has yet to react publicly -- we reached out to her reps, but the reality is, actors rarely say anything about snubs.

Austin Butler is celebrating his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Elvis Presley ... but the honor comes on the heels of tragedy.

The 31-year-old actor snagged his Academy Award nomination for best actor Tuesday for his performance of Elvis in the Baz Luhrmann movie "Elvis." Austin plays the King of Rock n' Roll from a teen up until his death.

Obviously, the nomination marks a huge accomplishment for the actor, and you have to imagine Lisa Marie would be thrilled ... so it's even more tragic she's not around to celebrate.

As you know, Elvis' famed daughter died January 12, after going into cardiac arrest ... first, at her California home, and then later the same day while she was in the hospital.

Lisa's family members, friends and countless Elvis fans just gathered Sunday at Graceland for a public memorial. The Memphis, TN estate is also where Elvis is also buried along with Lisa Marie's son, Benjamin, who she's buried next to.

A week before she passed away, Lisa Marie attended the Golden Globe Awards with her mom, Priscilla Presley, where Austin Butler won for best actor in a drama for his portrayal of the music legend.

Eddie Murphy is a stand-up comedian, first and foremost, which is why he was able to deliver wisdom and a huge laugh to the Golden Globes audience ... while reliving Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.

Eddie graciously accepted the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement Tuesday night at the Golden Globes Awards -- he really did thank almost every huge producer and director he worked with over his 40+ years in showbiz, but like we said ... he's a comedian, so he spiced up the speech with humor.

He wrapped up with a piece of advice to folks looking to achieve success and make it in Hollywood -- "I want to let you know that there is a definitive blueprint that you can follow to achieve success, prosperity, longevity and peace of mind. It's very simple, it's three things."

The first 2 drew plenty of laughs -- pay your taxes and mind your business -- but you've gotta watch the clip for #3, which brought down the house.

Even Will and Jada Pinkett Smith would have to laugh at the line and Eddie's delivery. Hell, Chris Rock would love it too.

In case you were living under a rock this year ... Will shocked the world by slapping Chris Rock right in the face during the Academy Awards after he'd made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head.

Comedian and actor Affion Crockett thinks Will Smith has another Oscar contender on his hands for his work in "Emancipation" ... and says it would be unfair if the "mistake" of slapping Chris Rock leads to award season snubs.

We got Affion Thursday at LAX, where he told us about getting to see Will's slavery-era drama, and he's certain the movie will be in Oscar contention, and ditto for its lead actor.

As you know, Will's 10-year Oscars ban doesn't prevent him from getting nominated or even winning -- a fact Affion thinks Academy voters should keep in mind, because he sees Will's "Emancipation" performance as "masterful."

As for that beyond infamous Oscars slap of Chris ... Affion's genuinely shocked the world's still focusing on it now that it's over 8 months later.

Despite that fact, he thinks there's a shot the Academy could reevaluate that 10-year ban.

FYI, Affion's also dealt with stage stormers before ... as we reported, he was performing in Florida last year when a woman charged onstage to criticize his act.

Will Smith is all smiles again ... he and Jada Pinkett Smith were back doing movie star stuff for the premiere of the new film days after he called his Oscars slap on Chris Rock a burst of anger years in the making.

Will and Jada got all done up Wednesday night in Westwood where they held the "Emancipation" premiere -- they posed for the photogs on their way into the theater and held onto each other tightly.

There was one moment that seemed like a loving callback to the drama of Oscars night -- Will kissed the top of Jada's head as cameras were flashing.

The event was definitely a family affair -- Jaden, Willow, and Trey were all there to support their pops on his return to the Hollywood spotlight.

As we reported, Will broke down what led up to him storming the stage to strike Chris ... telling Trevor Noah on Monday it stemmed from rage going back to his childhood.

He also made a plea to the audience, telling them to be nice to each other ... because you never know what another person's going through, but he noted that didn't justify his behavior.

Will Smith says the Oscars slap on Chris Rock was an explosion of anger that was years in the making ... but also seemed to partially put the blame back in CR's court.

The actor was on "The Daily Show" with Trevor Noah Monday and once again tried breaking down what led up to him storming the stage to strike Chris across the face during the live broadcast. He says flat out ... it stemmed from rage going back to his childhood.

Will explains how he went back to being the little boy who used to watch his father beat his mother, and that he was going through things that night ... which erupted in violence.

He also makes a plea to the audience, telling them to be nice to each other ... because you never know another person's troubles, which almost felt like an excuse for the slap -- before WS explicitly noted, it doesn't justify his behavior.

Trevor, who admits some bias as Will's pal, ate it up.

Trevor says he doesn't believe what Will did is a reflection of who he really is -- and in the end, puts a bow on the convo by saying everyone makes mistakes. Will got emotional.

The reason he's going around talking about it again is because he's on a press run for his new movie, "Emancipation," which may well see him in contention for another award next year.

Of course ... the question of whether it's too soon for Will to make a comeback is top of mind, but he's forging on with his 2023 Oscar campaign anyway -- asking Hollywood to forgive and forget. The flick comes out in December.

Will Smith was in a dark place after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, but he had a champion in his corner -- the actor says Floyd Mayweather called him every day for 10-straight days after the incident, just to make sure he was doing okay.

Smith made the revelation during a private screening of his new "Emancipation" movie at The London hotel ... and with Floyd in attendance, he took a moment to praise TBE for being there for him, even though they weren't exactly best buds at the time.

"I want to say something also about Floyd," Smith said in video obtained by TMZ Sports. "So, we've met each other, we've seen each other around, but we weren't like, friends."

"And, the day after the Oscars, for 10 days he called me every day," Smith added. "And, he was like, 'Ay, you know you the champ, right? You good? You know you the champ, right? I want you to hear my voice say it,'"

"That was every day he called me ... and it's like, that's my dude forever right there."

Smith has rarely spoken about the slapping incident -- he only released an apology video back in July -- so to hear him go into detail about the days following the incident is incredibly rare.

As for the film, Mayweather loved it.

“Emancipation captures an important time in history. The movie has me on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film,” Floyd tells us.

Producer Deon Taylor, Floyd's partner on his upcoming docuseries, "The GOAT," also spoke at the screening. Jona Rechnitz and James McNair, part of the production team, were also in the house for the viewing.

The perceived drama between Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez is all water under a bridge -- something HB confirmed in an interview ... and is now double confirming with a photo.

The two stars cheesed it up Saturday night ... posing together for a photo taken by professional BTS party photog Tyrell Hampton at the Academy Museum Gala in L.A., where the stars were out in force and dressed to the nines amid Oscar season.

Both women looked stunning in their outfits, with Selena walking the red carpet solo in a suit ... and ditto for Hailey, who was in a cropped dress. Justin Bieber wasn't there.

It seems they crossed paths either inside the museum at an after-party, and apparently felt chummy enough for a joint snap. Selena's holding Hailey's leg and they're both leaned in close. Tyrell's caption ... "plot twist" -- obviously referencing Hailey's recent sit-down.

You'll recall ... Hailey dished about the fan-fueled notion that she'd stolen Justin away from Selena, a narrative that's been going on for years now -- which she shot down completely.

She said she respected Justin and Selena's relationship while it was going on, and didn't interfere at all.

Eventually, JB and SG fizzled out and he got with Hailey ... and she even said she thinks he needed closure from his history with Selena to formally move on.

Hailey also said she and Selena were on good terms, and had even spoken since she and Justin got together ... and eventually hitched. As for the toxic fans pitting the two ladies against each other, HB had some choice words for them too.

If her words weren't' convincing enough for folks, the proof is in the polaroid. All is well!

BTW ... we weren't kidding when we said this was a Hollywood who's-who. The heavyweights showed up for this thing -- including George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner, Emma Stone, Olivia Wilde, Kerry Washington, Jessica Chastain, Keke Palmer, Glenn Close, Tilda Swinton, Rebel Wilson, John Cho, Adrien Brody and more.

Will Smith might be back in business sooner than later -- a key project of his that was paused seems on track to see the light of day after all ... this after a solid test screening.

The beleaguered actor -- who's still trying to repair his image after the Oscars slap -- was on hand Saturday at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st annual Legislative Conference, which was hosted by the NAACP ... with a ton of honchos there as well.

WS was standing next to director Antoine Fuqua, who was at the helm for their new flick, 'Emancipation,' while explaining to the audience why he'd been so averse to slave movies throughout his career ... but noting, he didn't really see this film in that lens, per se.

Will says this movie is, more so, about perseverance and determination -- and just the sheer will to survive and be free. He also talked about the character he'll be portraying, "Whipped Peter," whose photographs from the 1800s (showing scars on his back) went viral in its day.

As far as the actual movie itself ... the word is, it's incredible and quite powerful -- with a number of folks touting its importance for African-American culture, and America at large.

The jibes with all the buzz surrounding 'Emancipation' before Will hit Chris Rock on national TV -- there was a lot of talk of Oscars, and based on how people are responding ... it sounds like that might still be the case -- even though Will wouldn't be able to attend any ceremony.

As we all know ... the guy was banned from attending Academy Award shows for 10 years. Assuming Apple releases this thing in the next decade -- which they probably will -- and WS is actually in contention ... someone else would have to go up there for any would-be wins.