At his first show, Chris Rock was greeted to a standing ovation after being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars, admitting he’s “still processing” what happened. As the Boston audience cheered him on, he told the crowd he was getting “misty and s–t,” before joking, “How was your weekend?” He continued, “I had a whole show before this weekend. I’m still processing.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says they asked Will Smith to leave the Oscars on Sunday after slapping Chris Rock, but the actor refused. “Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated,” The Academy told the Associated Press Wednesday. “While we would like to clarify that Mr Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”
Many in the Oscars audience appeared stunned at the altercation. Diddy was the next presenter during the ceremony, where he appeared to introduce the 50th-anniversary celebration of “The Godfather.” Diddy addressed the situation by saying, “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve this like family. Right now we’re moving on with love. Everybody make some noise.”
Smith’s publicist Meredith O. Sullivan, came by him at the commercial break to have a discussion. Also during the break, Denzel Washington got up to speak to Smith privately. Smith revealed during his best actor speech that Washington said to him, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”
Why did Will Smith slap Chris Rock?
Actor, Will Smith took to the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock because of a joke he made about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. It appears that the Men in Black star was not impressed with the comedian’s remark that Jada’s shaved haircut was reminiscent of the famous film character G.I Jane. Jada has been openly suffering from the hair loss condition Alopecia since 2018.
“Jada, G.I Jane 2, I can’t wait to see it,’ said Rock in a skit to the Oscars audience seated in the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles. 50-year-old Jada seemed visibly annoyed, rolling her eyes at the comment. But it was her husband who decided to take action, arising from his seat and storming the stage, Will proceeded to slap Chris Rock around the face in front of a visibly shocked crowd.
Later that day, Will took it to his social to share a public apology to Chris via Instagram in which he directly addressed Chris and apologized for crossing the line. Will described his behavior as “unacceptable” and “inexcusable.” he added that he “reacted emotionally” to the joke about his wife’s medical condition.
Turns out Will Smith’s infamous slap heard around the world wasn’t the first “smackdown” connected to Chris Rock. Shawn Wayans seemingly predicted the future of the viral Oscars 2022 moment, when Will Smith casually strolled up on stage and smacked the “Everybody Hates Chris” creator for making a bald joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, way, way back at the 2000 MTV VMAs.