Elon Musk is on Team Meme in the Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscars slapgate controversy

The whole world was stunned when Will Smith went up to the Oscars stage and smacked presenter Chris Rock for a joke on his wife Jada Pinkett Smith at the 94th Academy Awards on Monday. Then, Smith went on to lift the Best Actor Oscar at the event after some time. He apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees in a tearful acceptance speech and rendered an apology to Rock today in an Instagram post today.

Twitter is overflowing with reactions and memes since the episode aired and found its way on social media. While the majority didn’t support Smith’s violent outburst, some took his side.

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Chris Rock had joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s closely cropped hair saying, "Can’t wait to see you in GI Jane 2” – the first part of the movie had actor Demi Moore, essaying the titular role, shave her head as part of her Navy Seal training. The joke didn’t go down well as Pinkett Smith has openly spoken about her struggle with alopecia areata that caused most of her hair to fall out. She shaved her head last year.

Will Smith, 53, laughed at the joke at first, then stormed up the stage and slapped Rock and walked back to his seat. He shouted, “Keep my wife’s name off your f***ing mouth” twice before Rock said, “I am going to” and proceeded to move on with the show, visibly stunned. Rock managed to maintain his composure and announced the nominees for Best Documentary Film.

Read: Oscars slapgate: Twitter weighs in after Will Smith apologises to Chris Rock for smacking him

Smith apologized to Rock for his stunt in an Instagram post saying, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Smith's apology came hours after the Academy condemned his behavior and said it was looking at further action.

"We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law," a statement said.