Chris Rock was born in SC. Here’s how others from the state reacted to the Oscars slap
People from South Carolina had plenty to say after actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock live on stage at the Oscars Sunday night.
Rock, who was born in Andrews, SC shortly before his family moved to Brooklyn, NY, made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, shortly before the assault. The incident has drawn national headlines ever since, as well as the attention of people from South Carolina, including some who only learned of Rock’s birthplace after the now infamous slap.
In a Monday tweet, former SC Rep. Bakari Sellers wrote “I’m with Will.” He later then jokingly tweeted for people to wait to see the Will Smith/Chris Rock effect on think pieces for the 2022 election cycle.
Former Columbia city councilwoman Tameika Isaac Devine, who ran for mayor in the last election, also commented about the incident on Twitter. However, she encouraged people to turn their attention away from the incident and instead to Questlove, drummer for The Roots and director of “Summer of Soul,” which won an Oscar for best documentary feature.
“Lets celebrate #Questlove for his win,” Devine tweeted.
Plenty of other South Carolinians took to Twitter, with some defending Rock, while others expressed displeasure that he didn’t fight back. Still others acknowledged that they just learned that Rock was born in South Carolina.
Meanwhile on the Monday episode of his nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club,” Charlamagne tha God, born as Lenard Larry McKelvey in Charleston, SC, referenced Rock’s joke and his take on Smith’s response.
“He stepped up to defend his family,” said Charlamagne, who grew up in Moncks Corner, SC.. “Listen, I love Will Smith and I love Chris Rock and I said this earlier but I’ll say it again, I’ve gone to enough therapy to know that slap he gave Chris Rock, that joke was a very, very, very small part of the reason. I don’t know what the ‘why’ is but for Will to react like that, there is something way deeper going on inside of him that we don’t know about.”
This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 4:44 PM.
