People Think Will Smith & Chris Rock Staged The Oscars Slap As Part Of A Big Pharma Conspiracy
This is getting out of hand.
YouTube Will Smith slapping Chris Rock across the face at the Oscars is already set to go down in pop culture history but the internet isn’t quite finished debating it just yet.
After Rock, and the rest of us, recovered from the initial shock, the incident gave rise to memes, opinion pieces, and plenty of negative reactions and now there is only one thing left to do — form conspiracy theories about the infamous slap.
Theorists are wondering if the whole moment could have been staged as a distraction from the many other more important issues going on in the world.
Or perhaps it was intended to drum up publicity for the award show, the actors involved, or — as some have suggested — for a new Pzifer drug.
Here are some of the theories circulating about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Was the Oscars slap staged?
It is hard to believe that a grown, successful, confident man would deem it appropriate to assault another man on one of the most-watched events in the Hollywood calendar.
So, naturally, many have wondered if the whole thing is fake.
Slow-motion videos do suggest that Smith really did hit Rock but these two are actors so who really knows.
Some fans are also circulating a video of Smith teaching a kid how to stage a slap.
There’s no doubt that the “Men In Black” star would know how to fake a hit if he wanted to, but whether or not he would choose to do so on one of the biggest nights of his career is another question.
Was the Oscars slap staged to promote Pzifer’s new alopecia drug?
Theorists are wondering if Big Pharma was at the center of the incident after the slap stirred up plenty of conversation about alopecia.
Smith has already confirmed that his actions were in response to what he deemed to be an inappropriate joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her hair loss.
Pinkett suffers from alopecia, a condition that Pzifer is reportedly trying to tackle with a not-yet-released drug.
Pzifer was one of the major sponsors of the Oscars so some have drawn a connection between the slap and the drug company.
Pzifer only just acquired the drug, etrasimod, from Arena this month. It is also still in the trial phase and has not yet been submitted for approval by the FDA.
Plus, etrasimod is also not just an alopecia drug. It is being developed to treat a range of immuno-inflammatory diseases.
Was Chris Rock wearing a cheek pad?
Other theorists latched on to claims that Rock was wearing some kind of prosthetic that would have softened the blow of Smith’s hand.
This theory rests solely on digitally enhance images that do make Rock’s cheek look a little bit unnatural.
But as is the case with most photo-editing software, ramping up the quality of a photo can cause a slight distortion of certain details.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.