Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Reporter Asks White House To Comment On The Will Smith Slap—And Everyone Is Rolling Their Eyes

Reporter Asks White House To Comment On The Will Smith Slap—And Everyone Is Rolling Their Eyes
C-SPAN

Things got a bit surreal at the White House after a reporter asked Kate Bedingfield, the White House Communications Director, to comment on "the biggest story right now," referring to actor Will Smith's response to a joke made by presenter Chris Rock during Sunday night's Academy Awards telecast.

The reporter, Simon Ateba of Today News Africa, asked for a comment on "the level of violence that was unleashed" by Smith, who assaulted Rock on camera in what appeared to be a move to defend his wife, the actress Jada Pinkett Smith, following a crass joke from the comedian about his wife's baldness.


Why Ateba thought to ask about the incident at the Academy Awards–which had nothing to do with American politics–and not about the Biden administration's response to Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine or, perhaps, the news that phone logs turned over to the House Select Committee tasked with investigating the January 6 insurrection show a 7-hour gap in former President Donald Trump’s calls, remains a mystery.

You can watch what happened in the video below.

In addition to asking the White House to comment on the incident, Ateba inquired whether the White House would "do anything to support comedians" like Rock "who have been attacked," though he did not cite any sources for that claim:

"You saw the level of violence that was unleashed on Chris Rock. Is that something that the White House condones — that type of violence?
"Do you condemn it? And do you do anything to support comedians who have been attacked and other artists?"

Bedingfield, who is filling in for White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki and Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after they both tested positive for COVID-19, did not lose composure, simply stating that she does not "have any official comment from the White House on the altercation."

She also noted that President Joe Biden had not watched the Academy Awards broadcast:

"I know the president was not able to watch the Oscars — didn't see it. So I don't have anything. I don't have any official comment from him or from the White House on this."

She was forced to reiterate that the White House does not have an official comment on the matter after Ateba once again asked if the "violence" at the Academy Awards "is something that you condemn."

Video of the exchange soon went viral, exposing Ateba to ridicule online.


Smith has faced heavy criticism following his assault of Rock, who has declined to press charges. Video of the incident, which many stunned viewers initially believed had been scripted, has been viewed millions of times.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has condemned Smith's actions and announced it will conduct a formal review of the matter "in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”

It remains to be seen whether the controversy will cost Smith the Academy Award for Best Actor that he won for his starring role in King Richard.

More from Entertainment/tv-and-movies

Dr. Timothy Snyder; Marjorie Taylor Greene
@edkrassen/X

MTG Gets Schooled By Holocaust Historian After Unfounded Claim About 'Nazis In Ukraine' In Resurfaced Clip

A resurfaced video from 2024 reminded social media users of the time Yale historian and best-selling author Dr. Timothy Snyder gave Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene a blunt fact-check after she touted the rise of "Nazis in Ukraine" during a recent congressional hearing.

The video is more relevant than ever following a contentious White House meeting last month between President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Vice President J.D. Vance. The meeting turned heated when Vance berated Zelenskyy, leading the Ukrainian president to leave without signing an agreement for U.S. security guarantees in exchange for access to Ukrainian rare earth minerals.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man yelling at someone on the phone
Photo by Icons8 Team on Unsplash

People's Worst Customer Service Nightmare Experiences

No matter how much we like a company and the services or products they offer, none of us like having to make phone calls to customer service.

Even the best customer service tends to require a long wait time to speak to someone, and sometimes that person isn't able to help in the way the customer needs.

Keep ReadingShow less
Person fanning out a wad of $100 bills
Brock Wegner/Unsplash

People Debate Whether They'd Split A $20 Million Jackpot With Their Parents

Winning the lottery can drastically change your life in ways you've only dreamed of.

You can finally purchase that million-dollar property, travel first-class on exotic getaways, never work again, and luxuriate in the finest, boujee experiences for the rest of your life.

Keep ReadingShow less
John Roberts; Donald Trump
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images (both)

John Roberts Smacks Down Trump For Threatening To Impeach Federal Judge Who Questioned Deportation Order

United States Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts finally spoke up on Tuesday to rebuke Republican President Donald Trump after he threatened a judge for ruling against the Trump administration's unconstitutional agenda.

On Tuesday morning, Trump took to Truth Social to rant about his latest court loss, targeting U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg with his vitriol, while not mentioning him by name.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Elon Musk and Ted Cruz
Verdict with Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz Mocked For Breathlessly Promoting Musk's Bizarre 'Magic Money Computers' Claim

Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz was widely mocked for hosting billionaire Elon Musk on his The Verdict podcast, only for Musk's appearance to derail after he began talking about "magic money computers" throughout Trump's governmental agencies.

Musk has garnered fierce criticism for slashing funding and personnel at federal agencies via his fake department "DOGE" despite not being an elected official—and a foreign-born, unelected official at that.

Keep ReadingShow less