WWE Hall of Famers Claim Will Smith and Chris Rock’s Slap Incident is Fake: ‘Controversy Creates Cash’

Published 03/31/2022, 8:30 AM EDT

If there’s one slap whose sound is going to echo through history, it’s Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during The Oscars. Ever since that moment, everyone on the internet has been talking about it, and dissecting it to understand what actually happened.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion about the situation. So, Rock’s fans are applauding him for keeping his composure and Smith’s fans are defending him, considering he took a stand for his wife.

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But how much of anything is actually true? WWE Hall of Famer Jeff Jarrett and Eric Bischoff spoke about this on the Special Edition of 83 Weeks and My World.

According to Bischoff, the entire incident was picked out of the marketing playbook. It benefitted both Will Smith and Chris Rock, given the impact of the moment.

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Bischoff referenced Smith’s character in the movie King Richards, where he is protecting his family and guiding his daughters. So, at the 2022 Oscars, Smith reverted to his movie character when he initiated the slap.

“Here’s Will Smith sitting in the audience and somebody is making fun of his wife. So, here comes that same character, because, controversy, as you know Jeff, creates cash. That movie [Kings Richards], has been out for a while. But guess what? The majority of the profit of the mice is made after the movie unusually comes out.”

“The Oscars, the Academy Awards is another marketing platform. It’s nonsense. It’s nothing more than a marketing platform.” [H/t 83 Weeks with Eric Bischoff]

Keeping the above in mind, it’s a good time to note that since the incident, Chris Rock’s tour tickets have received a hike in sales.

We sold more tickets to see Chris Rock overnight than we did in the past month combined.
— TickPick (@TickPick) March 28, 2022

Hence, it’s safe to assume both men have benefitted from the incident, whether or not it was scripted.

Will Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock

Right after the incident, Smith received the award for King Richards. During his speech, he apologized to the audience, the organizers, and the viewers. At that point, he didn’t refer to Chris Rock.

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Later, he issued a public apology to Chris Rock for the same, citing himself as a “work in progress”.

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A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)

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On the other hand, while Chris Rock has refused to file a complaint with the LAPD, The Academy Awards has launched an official investigation for the incident.

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Shuvangi is a senior WWE and AEW author at EssentiallySports. She has over 2000 published WWE articles and also has experience in content operations with Forbes. Having completed her undergraduation from Royal Holloway, University of London, Shuvangi is closely aligned to the fitness industry, having amateur skills levels in tennis and basketball while rowing at a regatta level.

WWE Hall of Famers Claim Will Smith and Chris Rock’s Slap Incident is Fake: ‘Controversy Creates Cash’

Will Smith has issued an apology to Chris Rock

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