Maryland state Sen. William Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery) missed the Oscars on Sunday night but by Monday morning his Twitter following grew and he was getting non-stop notifications because people mistook him for Oscar-winning actor Will Smith who slapped Chris Rock for telling a joke about his wife’s hairstyle on national television.
Smith told the Washington Post that he “got a few messages saying ‘you messed up.'”
“Actually it was a little more colorful than that,” he said.
According to a tweet by Smith’s colleague, Del. David Moon’s (D-Montgomery), users blasted the lawmaker for assaulting the comedian.
“Why you hit Chris Rock Bitch” one message read. “U did Chris Rock dirty,” and “bro why’d you slap Chris Rock.”
Smith, the chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee told The Post, “you gotta laugh. I needed some levity.”
Rock, the host of the 94th Academy Awards, joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, comparing her to the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” starring Demi Moore, who shaved her head to portray a fictional Navy Seal candidate.
Pinkett Smith has alopecia which causes hair loss.
Smith apologized for the incident on Monday, but the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences said they were investigating his behavior.
