Will Smith’s ‘King Richard’ co-star Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor weighs in on the Oscars slap, saying she understood his desire to protect his wife.
ByBernadette Giacomazzo
August 16, 2026
Key Takeaways
- Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor says she “stands with” Will Smith over his 2022 Oscars slap, framing it as him wanting to protect Jada Pinkett Smith after Chris Rock’s joke about her shaved head and alopecia.
- She rejects the idea that the First Amendment should shield all speech, arguing it shouldn’t protect “bullsh*t” that causes harm, and praises Smith as someone who “took care of everybody” on the King Richard set.
- The slap’s fallout included Smith’s 10-year Oscars ban, his public apology to Rock and outreach to host Wanda Sykes, who has said the incident overshadowed the work she, Amy Schumer, and Regina Hall put into the show.
More than four years after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, one of Smith’s King Richard co-stars is making it clear where she stands. Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor defended Smith’s reaction to Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, saying she understood the actor’s desire to protect his wife.
Ellis-Taylor addressed the 2022 Oscars incident during an appearance on the August 12 episode of The Daily Beast’s Obsessed: The Podcast. The Emmy-nominated actress, who played Oracene Price opposite Smith’s Richard Williams in King Richard, said her experience working with Smith shaped how she viewed what happened that night. “I know that he wanted to protect his wife, and I stand with him for that,” she said.
She also pushed back on the idea that offensive speech should automatically be insulated from consequences. “I think that, you know, this idea that First Amendment rights should protect everybody?” Ellis-Taylor said. “I don’t think it should necessarily protect bullsh*t. I don’t. I don’t. I really don’t, especially if you’re causing harm.”
Ellis-Taylor worked closely with Smith on the movie that ultimately earned him his first Academy Award. She recalled Smith looking out for people throughout the production, saying he “took care of everybody” and “just would not allow anybody to be treated poorly in his presence.”
She added, “I will always have a great deal of affection and care for him because he acted that way and not just with me, like I said, with everybody.”
The confrontation between Smith and Rock erupted during the 94th Academy Awards after Rock made a joke comparing Pinkett Smith’s shaved head to Demi Moore’s appearance in G.I. Jane.
Pinkett Smith has alopecia.
Smith walked onto the stage and struck Rock before returning to his seat and yelling at the comedian to keep his wife’s name “out your f*cking mouth.”
Smith later won Best Actor for his performance in King Richard.
The fallout stretched well beyond Oscar night. Smith resigned from the Academy and was banned from attending its events for 10 years. He also apologized publicly to Rock, calling his own conduct “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
Wanda Sykes, who co-hosted the ceremony with Amy Schumer and Regina Hall, later revealed that Smith also attempted to apologize to her personally.Sykes said she was sick when he called, so she acknowledged his message by text rather than speaking with him.
Sykes has said the confrontation overshadowed the work she, Schumer and Hall put into hosting the ceremony.
