BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) – Will Smith happily danced with wife Jada Pinkett Smith and their family at the Vanity Fair Oscar party, waving his Best Actor trophy in the air as if he didn’t care as he carried away to a mash-up of his own songs, from “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” to “Summertime.”
The only sign of the ugliness that had vanished four hours earlier—when Smith walked to the Dolby Theater stage and… slammed Chris Rock for a joke about his wife’s hair, gave a tearful acknowledgment minutes later — was the lavish attention given to the actor at a party where big stars and newly minted Oscar winners were everywhere.
He was harassed by people who filmed the scene and squeezed next to him for selfies.
“Congratulations Will Smith, I love you!” DJ D-Nice yelled as he played the medley.
“Daily Show” host Trevor Noah gave Smith a long hug and whispered in his ear as Smith laughed.
The crowd followed as Smith and his entourage made their way through the party. Smith clattered Oscar statuettes with other winners and stopped to receive congratulations and posed for photos with Timothée Chalamet.
Smith triumphantly held his Oscar in the air as he got into an SUV to take off after the short party visit.
His son Jaden Smith, who stayed behind to party with friends, exclaimed, “I love you! You did it!”
The shocking blow and its aftermath hung in the air, dominating the post-Oscar celebrations, social media and much of the country.
At the Governors Ball, which takes place right after the show upstairs from the Dolby Theater, there was both joy and excitement in the room. Many were eager to eat, drink and have their Oscars engraved. Many more were still processing what had happened on stage, although few were willing to express their feelings about it publicly. Rock did not appear on either party.
Kodi Smit-McPhee, a supporting actor nominee for “The Power of the Dog,” said he was happy for Best Director winner Jane Campion and excited to celebrate, but “was still calculating what was going on.” happened” with Smith and Rock.
“I have to go home and do my research,” Smith-McPhee said.
Tracee Ellis-Ross stopped by to have a chat with Questlove, whose documentary “Summer of Soul” won in the wake of the incident. She told him that he had done a wonderful job and that she was “sorry that that happened.”
At the Vanity Fair party before Smith’s arrival, Andrew Garfield, who lost best actor to Smith, was introduced to Serena Williams, an executive producer of “King Richard,” the biopic about her and sister Venus that won Smith his Oscar for playing from their father.
“Nice to meet you,” Garfield said. “I’m so sorry about tonight.”
That out of the way, they jumped on topics to talk about tennis.
Other corners of the parties were like any other Oscar night.
The Elton John AIDS Foundation resumed its viewing party on the 30th anniversary of its first. Brandi Carlile performed at the West Hollywood event hosted by Lady Gaga, Billy Porter and Eric McCormack.
At the Governor’s Ball, Anthony Hopkins danced while actor Riz Ahmed chatted with “Dune” director Denis Villeneuve. John Travolta posed with people taking selfies and Emilia Jones watched as her co-star “CODA” Troy Kotsur had his statue engraved while “Dancing Queen” played in the background.
Before Smith arrived at the Vanity Fair Party, Bill Murray, dressed in a beret, was jumping up and down a largely empty dance floor on Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face.” Sofia Coppola led Father Francis Ford Coppola by the arm through the crowd.
“Game of Thrones” actor Sophie Turner and her husband, musician Joe Jonas, were hanging out at the bar. Actor Isla Fisher, who left the party with her husband Sacha Baron Cohen, yelled at the up-and-coming Wanda Sykes that she “killed it” as one of the three Oscar hosts.
Billie Eilish and Kotsur smiled as they held their first Oscars and chilled out with friends as the party started to fade.
Other winners with much lesser-known faces enjoyed the instant invitation the trophy gives you to the Vanity Fair party, the nearly annual gala—free this year after a pandemic year—hosted by the magazine’s editor, Radhika Jones, in an indoor outdoor space between the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Beverly Hills City Hall.
As always, guests were shocked at In-N-Out burgers, the traditional fare at a party that’s all about loosening up and releasing tension.
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Bahr reported from Los Angeles.
