MSNBC “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski reacted on Monday to actor Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock over a joke he told at the Oscars.
Scarborough questioned the support directed at Smith after he assaulted Rock in response to his joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. The host said that everyone being concerned for Smith instead of Rock following the incident showed “Hollywood is a screwed up place.”
“Not only did he not apologize to Chris Rock in that moment, because he assaulted him, and here is the thing — after we saw all of these clips and all of these stories about people going up to offer Will Smith support, who is offering Chris Rock support?” asked Scarborough. “Chris Rock told a joke, and that’s what’s happened in these ceremonies for decades, and he is telling a joke. And it is tough enough being a comedian as it is, being up on stage. … And he has to keep going.”
“Everybody goes up to Will Smith, you OK, you OK? No, I think they have that backwards,” he added. “I think they need to go up to Chris Rock, ask Chris Rock is he OK.”
Scarborough continued, “You know, I mean, Hollywood is a screwed-up place. I guess because Will Smith is a big star, everybody says, ‘Hey, you OK, man? No, no, no, he is not OK. It is obvious he’s not OK.”
“The joke was not that bad,” Brzezinski added.
“And it’s also obvious that the community needs to put their arms around Chris Rock and see if he’s OK,” Scarborough concluded.
Follow Trent Baker on Twitter @MagnifiTrent
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