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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Neil Shaw

What Chris Rock's GI Jane joke about Jada meant and why it was so upsetting

Oscar-winning actor Will Smith hit Acadamy Awards presenter and comedian Chis Rock live onstage at the prestigious awards ceremony on Sunday night. Smith took the stage after actor Chris Rock made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Rock said: "Jada, can't wait for GI Jane 2," referencing the fact Jada had shaved her head into a buzzcut. Last year Jada, 50, opened up about her decision to shave her head, after suffering from alopecia. GI Jane is an action movie from 1997 which stars Demi Moore as Jordan O'Neil.

Jordan, in order to complete her tough training and to solidify her position as a Seal, shaves her head and becomes the titular GI Jane.

It wasn't the first time Chris made a joke about Jada during an Awards show. Will and his wife Jada boycotted the Oscar Awards in 2016 as it was the second year in a row that no people of colour were nominated.

While presenting, Chris previously said: "Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties—I wasn’t invited." He added: "It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West."

Last year, Jada opened up about her struggles with alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. She took to social media to explain why she completely shaved her head.

"Now at this point, I can only laugh… y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia. Just all of a sudden, one day…it just showed up like that," she said. "Now, this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide. So, I thought I’d just share it so y’all not asking any questions…

"Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!"

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