Many may come across social media posts having fun with the viral moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock. One of them is the Fresh Prints meme that fans are mostly obsessing about. It is a trending meme on Twitter, and those who do not know what unfolded between the 2 superstars may not get the gist of it. It stemmed from an infamous Oscars 2022 moment when comedian Chris Rock decided to poke fun at the bald look of Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The ‘Men in Black’ actor got up from his seat, walked up to the comedian, and smacked him hard in the face.
The incident ignited a huge debate but what’s missing from the conversation was the reason for Jada’s bald head. The actress suffered hair loss due to alopecia, a common autoimmune disease that causes hair to fall. Reportedly, it affects 6.8 million people in the US, but only one-third of women face this disease in some form. This reason also led the actor to slap the mouth that uttered nonsense and disrespected the struggles and challenges one may have faced due to the disease.
Where many debated about the rights and wrongs of the situations, some decided to immortalize the moment in memes.
Fresh Prints Meme Takes Over Social Media
It is impossible to go through social media these days without coming across the Fresh Prints meme. Many users have turned the controversial event into a joke. The meme starts with the question, “what do you find on Chris Rock’s cheeks?” followed by the answer, “Fresh Prints”. Here prints mean Smith’s fingerprints that are now splashed on the side of Chris Rock’s face.
A Reference from Will Smith’s TV Show
Fresh Prints meme takes reference from the name of Will Smith’s TV show from the 90s, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show of one of the very first projects Will Smith worked in the start of his career. He played himself in the show that ran on NBC from 1990 to 1996. The series tells a story of a street-smart teenager whose personality often clashes with his elite-class family. After getting into a fight with a bully, his family moves him to live with his rich uncle and aunt in a mansion. The series became a major reason for Smith’s popularity in Hollywood, and he quickly became a top tier movie star. It is still remembered as a classic and also gave birth to the Fresh Prints meme. Viewers speculated that Smith gave fresh prints to Chris Rock just like he did with a bully in the TV show.
Will Smith Apologizes to Chris Rock
Despite the virality of the incident and the Fresh prints meme, the ‘Bad Boys’ actor turned to Instagram and posted a public apology for Chris Rock. He admitted that being vindictive towards Chris Rock was out of line and wrong. He said that he was embarrassed by his actions because that was not the kind of man he wanted to be. He further said that the world needed more kindness and love than violence and hatred.
In the end, he also apologized to the producers of the Oscars and the witnesses. Moreover, he extended his apology towards the Williams family on which his movie King Richard was based. He played the role of Serena and Venus Williams’ father, Richard Williams. He trained his two daughters, who went on to achieve legendary status in Tennis.
