KUALA LUMPUR: Hollywood actor Will Smith has caused quite a stir after he slapped stand-up comedian Chris Rock onstage and uttered vulgarities at him during the 2022 Oscars, for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Popular TV host Datuk Aznil Nawawi who had previously covered the Oscars in Los Angeles, USA shared a clip of the incident in a post on Instagram and wrote: "Wow! You do a stand-up routine making fun of my wife, I stand up and defend my wife!"
He added: "Pinkett Smith has been public for several years about dealing with alopecia and hair loss which may explain why Smith was so upset."
While onstage, Rock had roasted some of the nominees including Denzel Washington and Javier Bardem.
When he moved on to Smith, who won Best Actor for the biographical sports drama King Richard, Rock took a stab at his wife's hair and said: "Jada, I love you. GI Jane II, can't wait to see it."
Smith did not take kindly to Rock's reference of the 1997 film GI Jane in which its star Demi Moore had shaved her head for the role.
It's been reported that Pinkett Smith is currently battling the autoimmune disorder alopecia, which can cause hair loss and balding.
However, award-winning stand-up comedian Harith Iskander did not appreciate Smith's physical reaction to the insensitive ribbing.
"Unbelievable incident at the Academy Awards. As a comedian and a professional, I have to give it up to Chris Rock.
"Much respect for just 'taking it on the chin' and moving on," he wrote in an Instagram post.
Harith added: "To be assaulted by someone whilst you are on stage performing is the most insane thing that could happen. Although I can't say the same for Will Smith... and I am a huge fan of his."
"I have no idea of whatever it is that's going on with him and in his life at this moment but to put it simply, that ain't cool.
"The worst thing is now Will has gone and made the entire ceremony about him. What he did was selfish and unprofessional," he said.
Radio announcer, TV host, actress and singer Che Puan Sarimah Ibrahim also gave her two cents on the matter and called for better self-control.
"We all want to. But we can't. If you do — you lost the battle. You lost control of yourself.
"The number of times I wanted to just smack someone for the hurt they caused me or my family. We all know that feeling.
"It's rage wrapped in what we believe is protectiveness. But in the end when you hurt another you just hurt yourself," she wrote on Instagram.
Sarimah added: "Let others show their tastelessness. Let others lose control. Don't let your family and kids see you do the same. I wish this for us all. Cause the world does not need any more violence.
"Another point to reflect on. Often, we carry a lot of resentment for the past and it can get misdirected and released in the present. We all need to check ourselves on that," she said.
Actress Zarina Anjoulie said in the comments section that, "The thing with other people is they freely talk smack about others but when we talk smack back about them, all of a sudden we're the evil one."
Although the comments and replies from Netizens on the posts were varied, most agreed that physical violence was not the solution.