Actor Will Smith smacked comedian and fellow actor Chris Rock on the stage of the 94th Academy Awards after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith being in “GI Jane” because of her shaved head. Seconds later, husband Smith took the stage and slapped Rock.
While it may have appeared as a scripted act at first, Smith returned to his seat and then yelled at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
MAYHEM BETWEEN CHRIS ROCK AND WILL SMITH AT THE #Oscars pic.twitter.com/265hGbsEDg— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 28, 2022
Organisers censored the audio just as the two started shouting at each other, but uncensored international feeds picked up the two actors yelling at each other.
Rock then took a few seconds to recover and bounced back, calling it "the greatest night in the history of television."
Read more: Oscars 2022 viral moment: When Will Smith smacked Chris Rock. What exactly happened
Many in the audience of Oscars 2022 looked stunned at the altercation between the actors. The next presenter on stage, Diddy addressed the situation by saying, “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve that like family. Right now we’re moving on with love. Everybody make some noise.”
'Love will make you do crazy things': Will Smith
Minutes later, an emotional Will Smith went on to win an Oscar for Best Actor and apologised to the academy and his fellow nominees. “Love will make you do crazy things,” he said in tears.
The actor, crying openly called Richard Williams a "protector of his family". “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people, and to be a river to my people. You’ve got to be able to take abuse, you’ve got to smile and pretend like that’s okay”.
Read more: 'New Batman': Twitter after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock during Oscars 2022
Smith, who won the Best Actor award for his role in "King Richard", then apologised to the Academy, and to his fellow nominees and ended his address with: “I hope the Academy invites me back”.
