‘What went wrong’ with Chris Rock’s Jada Pinkett Smith joke exposed by Russell Kane | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith backfired because he “punched down”, says fellow comedian Russell Kane. The Steph’s Packed Lunch star told Express.co.uk Will Smith’s punch was “abhorrent”, but that Chris should have “erred on the side of caution” when he saw a woman with a bald head. 

Back in March, Will slapped Oscars host Chris Rock for making a joke at the expense of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Referencing Jada’s shaved head, Chris quipped that he couldn’t wait to watch her in GI Jane 2. 

However, Jada didn’t find the joke funny, as she suffers from alopecia and battled heartbreaking insecurity when she decided to shave her hair off. 

Will initially laughed, but his demeanour appeared to change when he realised Jada wasn’t laughing. 

“Even though what Will Smith did was totally abhorrent and Chris Rock has ended up looking like a total legend, you see a woman with no hair in the front row and your first instinct should be, ‘Let’s not go there, just in case it’s a disease or any illness.’

“That would be my instinct. How can someone with that much experience not err on the side of caution?”

He added: “That said, once you’ve punched someone in the face, you’ve lost the argument.”

Asked how Will’s career could recover, Russell pondered: “I don’t know.