It’s not surprising that the Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscar incident was the talk of the Oscar afterparties. But what did surprise me is that the overwhelming majority of Oscar-attendees either kept their mouths shut or they gave Will and Chris some space and some grace to work it out on their own. Very few celebrities were trying to dive in the middle of the situation and talk sh-t about either man. Tiffany Haddish went a bit further than most people though – it seems she is firmly on Team Will Smith. She described his actions as “beautiful.”

Tiffany Haddish is sharing her thoughts on Will Smith smacking Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards, explaining why she found the controversial moment “beautiful.”

“When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me,” Haddish, 42, told PEOPLE at the Governors Ball following the ceremony. During the show, Smith, 53, walked on stage and hit Rock, 57, after Rock made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair.

Haddish, who starred in 2017’s Girls Trip with Jada, continued, “As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you. And that meant the world to me. And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.”

Haddish then asked, “Would you do that for your wife? Would you say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mother f—ing…’ Like, yes! Yes!”

The comedian and actress went on to note that Rock is “a friend” of Will and Jada, and questioned, “Why would you do that? He didn’t even run the joke by her, but she was hurt though. If she wouldn’t have been hurt, [Will] probably wouldn’t have said nothing,” said Haddish. “But you could see he was clearly… And they exploited it. They exploited her, so ‘I have to do something’… He protected his wife.” She later said that “Will is fine.”

[From People]

Yeah, that’s the thing – the Hollywood community is close-knit already, but the Black Hollywood community is even more close-knit. Chris Rock has known Will Smith and Jada for years, decades. They socialize in the same circles. Tiffany knows Rock from the comedy world, and she knows Will and Jada from the acting world. Tiffany is putting herself in Jada’s shoes in the situation and thinking about how hurt Jada must have felt. And honestly? Hurting Jada’s feelings was the whole point of Rock’s “joke.” The Oscar producers knew Rock was going to say that. That’s why they already had the camera on Will and Jada, for their reaction. As Tiffany says, they exploited Jada.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith during the live ABC telecast of the 94th Oscars® at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles, CA, on Sunday, March 27, 2022.,Image: 673515557, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: Avalon Licensing Ltd. do not claim any Copyright of the attached image WORLD RIGHTS- Fee Payable Upon reproduction – For queries contact Avalon London +44 20 7421 6000 Los Angeles +1 310 822 0419 Berlin +49 30 76 212 251 Madrid +34 91 533, Model Release: no, Credit line: Avalon.red / Avalon

Tiffany Haddish attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party Hosted By Radhika Jones celebrating the 94th annual Academy Awards at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 27, 2022 in Beverly Hills, California,Image: 673579743, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Tiffany Haddish, Credit line: – / JPI Studios / Avalon