Testament Guitarist Calls Out Will Smith Over Slapping Comedian Chris Rock On Live TV

Testament guitarist
Alex Skolnick photo: Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com /Will Smith & Chris Rock Oscar photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
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Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick chimed in on last night’s big Oscar drama, calling actor Will Smith’s actions an “ugly meltdown.”

If you’re unfamiliar with what took place, here’s a recap. During last night’s Oscars event, comedian Chris Rock took to the stage and did what he does best and threw out some jokes. Among those jokes was one about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Jada has been struggling with alopecia, which causes hair loss, which is what Rock’s joke alluded too. Well, after making that joke, Will Smith took to the stage and slapped Chris Rock (and it looked like a real aggressive slap). Rock stood in disbelief and said, “Will Smith just slapped the shit out of me.”

Smith then went back to his seat and yelled at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” You can watch the slapping incident for yourself below via Alex Skolnick’s tweet.

Upon hearing about what took place, the Testament guitarist took to his Twitter, sharing a video of the incident and writing the following:

I missed #Oscars2022 & a whole lot apparently. Quick thought: Wasn’t he the “nice” rapper? Meanwhile “scary” rappers have great senses of humor, ie IceT & Snoop (his IG is LOL FUNNY). C’mon #WillSmith. You don’t have to like #ChrisRock ‘s joke but an ugly meltdown? Violence? Wtf?”

The Testament guitarist continues in a follow-up tweet, re-tweeting a comment from Body Count frontman/rapper Ice-T:

The Fn Oscars got more HOOD than my Fn Concert last night… #Bars”

The Testament guitarist concluded his thread with the following:

#WillSmith’s overreaction at the #Oscars stole the spotlight from @questlove, #SummerOfSoul & even #KingRichard (for which he won!) There are better ways to express displeasure. Just when it finally gets past #OscarsSoWhite, he turns it into #OscarsYoFight #willsmithchrisrock”

Do you think Will smith was out of line for slapping Chris Rock?

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Words by: Michael Pementel