"He'll be fine": Whoopi Goldberg claims Will Smith will bounce back from Chris Rock Oscars slap fiasco

Whoopi Goldberg expressed views on the Will Smith-Chris Rock debacle and what it holds for the former's professional future. On April 4's episode of The View, the 66-year-old star said that believes that the Men in Black actor will bounce back from the controversy over him slapping comedian Chris Rock at last weekend's Academy Awards.

Goldberg compared the situation to Kanye West and Louis C.K. bagging Grammy awards in 2022:

"Some people found that controversial, but the show didn't have anything like last week's controversy, which is fine."

She also pointed out that some of Will Smith's upcoming projects have been questioned.

"The question is, does he have a path back? Yes, of course he does. He'll be fine, he'll be back. No worries."

As per The Hollywood Reporter, Whoopi Goldberg's comments come after Netflix and Sony shelved some projects with which she was previously affiliated.

Whoopi Goldberg previously stated that Rock, who is 57 years old, "was the victim" but that the Oscars organizers made the correct decision in not pulling Smith from the star-studded show.

"This is not the first time craziness has happened onstage, but this is the first time we've seen anybody assault anybody onstage."

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Whoopi Goldberg was referring to the Will Smith x Chris Rock fiasco at the 2022 Academy Awards

At last week's event, the fiasco came to a head when Chris Rock made a passing joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's lack of hair. Pinkett Smith has publicly discussed her alopecia, a hair loss disorder.

The comedian joked:

"Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see ya."

Audiences and live viewers worldwide were astonished when her husband walked onstage and smacked Chris Rock in front of a live global audience. As Smith returned to his seat, Rock said:

"Oh wow! Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me."

After returning to his seat, Smith yelled at Rock to keep his partner, Jada Pinkett Smith's name, out of Rock's material.

Smith went on to win the Best Actor Award for his role in King Richard later in the night. He apologized to his peers, the audience, and the Academy for his misbehavior during his speech. The next day, he issued a formal apology to Rock. News reports since then have suggested that Smith and Rock are yet to communicate.

In response to an investigation by the Oscars, Smith resigned from the Academy on April 1. The Academy accepted his resignation. They will continue to move forward with their disciplinary proceedings against the actor for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct when they reconvene on April 18.