Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Jamaal Bowman Delete Tweets Seemingly Defending Will Smith Smacking Chris Rock at the Academy Awards

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Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) deleted tweets defending actor Will Smith for standing up to — err, smacking — comedian Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards.

The tussle came as Rock presented the nominees for Best Documentary, during which he took a jab at Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said, likely referencing her baldness, caused by alopecia.

Pinkett Smith revealed her diagnosis in 2018 and has since then spoken out publicly about the condition.

That comment prompted Smith to smack Rock onstage and yell at him to “keep my wife’s name out ya fucking mouth!”

Pressley, who revealed herself to have alopecia in 2020, weighed in briefly on Twitter but quickly deleted her tweet.

“#Alopecia nation stand up! Thank you #WillSmith,” she wrote. “Shout out to all the husbands who defend their wives living with alopecia in the face of daily ignorance & insults.”

“Women with baldies are for real men only…boys need not apply,” she added.

Bowman posted a similar tweet that was quickly deleted, Ben Jacobs noted.

“Teachable Moment: Don’t joke about a Black Woman’s hair,” he wrote.