Maryland lawmaker responds to harsh tweets from users confusing him for actor Will Smith
The world continues to talk about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, and unfortunately for one Maryland lawmaker, that has meant unwanted attention on his Twitter feed.
Maryland State Senator Will Smith has been getting a lot of reactions about the slap from Twitter users who are mistaking him for the actor.
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Maryland's Will Smith is a Democrat who has represented Montgomery County in the Maryland General Assembly since 2015.
Since the slapping incident Sunday, many Twitter users have been tweeting at Will Smith, the State Senator, expressing their displeasure at the actor Will Smith's actions.
One user even expressed anger that the slap ruined their family's Oscars party. The user wrote "I was watching that with my friends and entire family," and added that after the slap "everyone is crying and screaming and my wife left with the kids."
Most of the tweets expressed anger and disappointment at the slap, but one user did come to Will Smith's defense, albeit the wrong Will Smith.
Thankfully, other users who were not confused about the names came to the State Senator's defense. They pointed out that the Twitter users were directing their anger and tweets at the wrong person, and even joked about how nice Maryland Senator Will Smith is.
RELATED: Jada Pinkett Smith makes first statement after Oscars slap
Fox 5's Tom Fitzgerald spoke with Maryland State Senator Will Smith about being mixed up with the actor, and the social media reactions he's receiving as a result.
"I had hundreds new followers on my twitter feed and a bunch of messages asking me why I slapped Chris Rock and calling me some other very colorful names, so it’s interesting, it’s shocking but I finally scrolled through and found the video and discovered what the hoopla was all about" Smith tells Fox 5.
The State Senator also commented about whether he's considered a name change, and how he's been dealing with the aftermath of the famous slap.
"The name is the name, I’m keeping it! So I’ve not thought about that but look you just take this in jest with a little bit of levity, obviously the underlying circumstances were tragic and unfortunate," said Smith.
The twitter mix up comes after the actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock during the Academy Awards on Sunday night. The slap happened after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. In 2018, the actress married to Will Smith announced that she had been diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune condition characterized by rapid hair loss.
Since the slap, Will Smith has publicly apologized for his actions and sources claim both Rock and Smith have ended their feud.