Nearly a week after Will Smith smacked Chris Rock at last Sunday’s Oscars, Bill Maher weighed in on the slap heard around the world on Friday’s episode of HBO’s Real Time.
Maher opened his monologue by delivering a few jokes at Smith’s expense. “I’m not here to humiliate Will Smith. He gets enough of that at home,” Maher told the audience.
From there, he took aim at Jada Pinkett Smith, declaring that she should feel “lucky” that Alopecia is her biggest medical problem.
“If you are so lucky in life as to have that be your medical problem, just say ‘thank God,’” Maher joked. “It’s not life threatening. It’s part of, for most people, 80 percent of men, 50 percent of women, it’s part of aging.”
Maher continued, “Aging is, trust me I know, it’s the degradation of the flesh. It happens to all of us. And you know, just put on a fucking wig like everybody else at the Oscars if it bothers you so much.”
On Monday, nearly 24 hours after the viral moment, Will Smith took to Instagram to issue a public apology to Rock.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” Smith wrote. “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.”
Smith went on to admit that he reacted “emotionally” after hearing the joke, before apologizing to the Academy.
“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world,” the King Richard star continued. “I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”
Smith added, “I am a work in progress.”
Jada waited until Tuesday to share a short message to Instagram amid ongoing coverage of her husband’s infamous slap. “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,” she wrote in the brief post.
