Free Republic

Dr. Zahi Hawass, one of the most famous Egyptologists and the former Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs, has criticized Netflix for its controversial decision to cast Cleopatra with a black actress in an upcoming docuseries. The new Netflix series, dubbed “Queen Cleopatra”, which is produced and narrated by the American actress Jada Pinkett Smith, has sparked fierce debate over the misrepresentation of history and representation in TV and media. Hawass, who is Egypt’s most recognizable archaeologist, decried the decision by Netflix to portray Cleopatra as being of black descent, pointing out that the historical figure “was Greek”. Zahi...

<p>Chris Rock is a savvy businessman. The way he handled The Slap (Slapgate) by Will Smith at last year’s Oscars ceremony is masterful. He performed live on Netflix Saturday night in a show titled “Selective Outrage” and this is the vehicle he used to let the world know his thoughts now on The Slap.</p>

Jada Pinkett Smith confessed that she “really didn’t want to get married” to Will Smith. In fact, the “Matrix” actress — now on the roasting spit of Smith’s infamous Oscars smack-down of Chris Rock and the Academy’s decision Friday to ban him from the ceremony for 10 years — admitted to “crying down the freaking aisle” before tying the knot with the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star on New Year’s Eve in 1997. “I was under so much pressure, you know, being a young actress, being young, and I was just, like, pregnant and I just didn’t know what to...

Will Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures Friday in the face of possible suspension or expulsion from the organization after he slapped Chris Rock during the Oscars last weekend. In a resignation statement, Smith said he would accept any consequences imposed by the Academy’s Board of Governors for his actions. “The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” Smith said in the statement, obtained by Variety. “I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived...

Will Smith admits he can imagine cheating on his wife - but only with her permission.The Men In Black star said he and Jada Pinkett Smith agreed they would warn each other and ask for approval if they felt the need to sleep with someone else. 'Our perspective is, you don't avoid what's natural. You're going to be attracted to people,' said Smith, 36. 'In our marriage vows, we didn't say, "forsaking all others". The vow we made was that you will never hear I did something after the fact.' Eva Mendes, his co-star in his new movie Hitch, was...

Bass player John B. Williams, who was on the receiving end of a bald joke cracked by Will Smith on The Arsenio Hall Show in 1991, calls the Oscars slap “unfortunate”Bass player John B. Williams clearly remembers the moment more than 30 years ago when Will Smith pointed him out during an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show and cracked a joke about his bald head. “I didn’t take it seriously. He was a comedian. He was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. He was a rapper. I took it as a joke. I laughed it off,” Williams, 81, tells Rolling...

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (UCLA ‘69) writes: "When Will Smith stormed onto the Oscar stage to strike Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife's short hair, he did a lot more damage than just to Rock's face. With a single petulant blow, he advocated violence, diminished women, insulted the entertainment industry, and perpetuated stereotypes about the Black community. That's a lot to unpack. Let's start with the facts: Rock made a reference to Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, as looking like Demi Moore in 'G.I. Jane,' in which Moore had shaved her head. Jada Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, which...

Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes slammed the Academy, calling their actions 'gross' for allowing Will Smith to remain in the theater Sunday night after he slapped Chris Rock, a display she said made her feel 'physically ill.' 'It was sickening,' Sykes said in a televised interview on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show. 'I felt physically ill and I'm still a little traumatized by it.' Smith, 53, stunned the audience at Dolby Theatre and millions of television viewers at Sunday night's Oscars when he marched onto the stage and slapped Rock, 57, after the comedian made a bald joke about Smith's wife, Jada...

Will Smith was asked to leave the Oscars after slapping Chris Rock, but he refused, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement Wednesday. "Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated," the statement said. "While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently." "Mr. Smith's actions at the 94th Oscars were a deeply shocking, traumatic event to witness in-person and on television. Mr. Rock, we apologize to you for what you experienced on our stage...

Two reports say that the Motion Picture Academy lied on Thursday by claiming Will Smith was asked to leave the basement-rated Oscar telecast after his unprovoked assault on Chris Rock. Oh, my, yes… This scandal just got a whole lot more delicious. Right now, the entertainment community is furious at the Academy for not doing anything after Smith assaulted a comedian for telling a joke. In front of the whole world, Smith was not only allowed to stroll onto the stage and smack Rock; he was allowed to remain in his seat afterward. What’s more, he was handed an Oscar...

PSA: Will Smith the actor (not Will Smith the politician or Will Smith the video game creator) slapped Chris Rock on Sunday night. Will Smith famously slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at Sunday's Oscars ceremony, and a Maryland state senator is one of the other Will Smiths of the world taking heat for the action. Maryland State Senator Will Smith is not married to Jada Pinkett Smith. Will Smith "Why you hit Chris Rock bitch," reads one tweet directed at the Democrat, a member of the state senate since 2016 who chairs its Judicial Proceedings Committee. Reads another, "I...

Amy Schumer implied she was stepping away from her active career for a 'month' break as she shared an Instagram snap with her son Gene on Thursday morning. The 40-year-old comedian wrapped her arms around her two-year-old little one in the peaceful photo, and wrote: 'Out of office reply for the next month. Thanks.' Her latest post follows a social media share on Wednesday morning where she admitted she was 'still triggered and traumatized' by the 'disturbing' moment when Will Smith stormed onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock during Sunday night's 94th annual Academy Awards ceremony. Amy followed up...

Was Will Smith's slap at the Oscars staged? Or was it a glimpse at a broken man and Hollywood's moral depravity? @RealCandaceO breaks down the slap heard around the world

A paltry 15.4 million viewers tuned into Sunday night’s debacle of an Oscar telecast, the second-worst in the history of a telecast that just a few years ago was attracting 30 to 40 million viewers without breaking a sweat. For context, back in 2017, when the Oscars earned 33 million viewers and 9.1 million demo viewers in the 18-49 age group, people were freaking out over the plunge in public interest. Well, last night, the number was less than half that 33 million… That’s how bad things are. The left-wing Hollywood Reporter uses the word “rebound” in its ratings headline....

Chris Rock will return to the stage for his ongoing comedy tour this week, after being slapped by Will Smith on the Oscars stage Sunday night over a joke he made about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The on-screen altercation is one of the most dramatic unplanned events to occur in Academy Awards history, made even more peculiar by Smith accepting the award for best actor less than an hour after his outburst. However, the dramatic moment did seem to inspire some viewers to buy tickets to see Rock perform live; one secondary ticketing marketplace, TickPick, reports that they...

Chris Rock's may have landed himself in hot water with Oscar bosses as his joke about Jada Pinkett Smith was reportedly unvetted before the live show. The comedian, 57, was slapped in the face by Jada's husband Will, 53, after he stormed on stage when Chris jokingly compared her haircut to G.I. Jane. A source told Us Weekly that Chris initially rehearsed his speech with no mention of Jada. The insider added: 'Will was not in attendance for [the] rehearsal.' While on stage, Chris said: 'Jada, GI Jane 2, I can't wait to see it', which prompted Will to step...

Will Smith was just defending his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, during Sunday evening’s Oscars ceremony, but for some who share the same medical condition, they felt protected, too. After presenter Chris Rock made a joke about Pinkett-Smith’s bald-headed hairstyle — an outcome of the “Gotham” star’s condition, alopecia — Smith socked him on stage. “Ex on the Beach” contestant ZaraLena Jackson, who also suffers from hair-loss illness and is an advocate on social media, is standing by Smith, 53, and his actions at the Dolby Theater. The 29-year-old reality star told SWNS that while she doesn’t advocate for violence, Rock, 57,...

Bad blood between Chris Rock and Will Smith flowed long before the “King Richard” star took a swing at the 2022 Oscars. In 2016, the stand-up comic hosted the Academy Awards, where both Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, were the butts of some pointed barbs. Rock made fun of Pinkett Smith’s public avowal to boycott the show after another year of all-white acting nominees. “Jada said she’s not coming. I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!” he quipped...

In a truly shocking moment, Will Smith just smacked Chris Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith at The Oscars. Chris was up on stage Sunday presenting for Best Documentary, but before he started naming the nominees ... he was firing off zingers to the crowd, and eventually landed on Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Chris made a comment about Jada's shaved head ... saying he couldn't wait to see 'G.I. Jane 2' -- which got some groans from the crowd, to which he just sorta shrugged off. Chris didn't think he'd crossed...

Marc Lamont Hill, a liberal pundit who previously was a contributor for CNN, found himself in hot water after tweeting an offensive “joke” about Hollywood star Tom Hanks’ announcement that he contracted coronavirus. After 63-year-old Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson bravely announced that they had tested positive for the disease, Hill reposted a tweet announcing their diagnosis. “I’m Black. Call me when Will and Jada got it,” he captioned the tweet, according to Fox News. Hill was referring to the African American actors Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Many took the tweet to imply that Hill...