Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars
Break the Internet ®

Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars

Update 03/28/22: Will Smith and Chris Rock have reportedly made amends. Diddy toldPage Six that everything was settled at the Vanity Fair Oscars afterparty Sunday night. "That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that,” he said. "It’s all love. They’re brothers."

P. Diddy joked that this was the most exciting Oscars ever because of one big, unexpected moment. As comedian Chris Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature, King Richard actor Will Smith stepped up onto the stage to hit him in the face. This shocking moment will likely go down in awards show history.

Related | Jada Pinkett Smith Gives an Update on Alopecia Hair Loss

Rock, as part of his presenting spiel, told a few jokes but one of them didn't land so well. He told Jada Pinkett-Smith, "Jada, I love you, 'G.I. Jane 2,' can’t wait to see it." This was a direct jab at her shaven head, which she shaved due to her alopecia. She visibly rolled her eyes. And while, at first, Will took it in jest, moments later he made his way to the stage to give Rock a piece of his mind.

He slapped Rock in the face, to Rock and the audience's shock. Rock responded, "Wow, Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me." But while Rock was trying to defend his joke and salvage the moment, Smith was having none of it. "Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth,” he said repeatedly. And Rock attempted to get back on track by making light of the situation, saying, "That was the greatest night in the history of television."

Diddy later called out the moment while he was presenting and Smith seemed to be in a better mood. And when Smith later won the award for the Best Actor in a Leading Role, he also addressed it in his acceptance speech. He started off, saying, "I'm being called on in my life to love people and to protect people, and to be a river to my people. Now, I know, to do what we do you gotta be able to take abuse. You gotta be able to take people talking crazy about you. You gotta be able to take people disrespecting you."

He was emotional all throughout his time on stage. He added that fellow nominee Denzel Washington told him, "At your highest moment, be careful, that's when the Devil comes for you." He continued, "I want to apologize to The Academy, I want to apologize to all of my fellow nominees." And tying in his award-winning role, he said, "Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father like what they said about Richard Williams."

People are finding humor in the awkward TV moment and have already made memes out of the slap that was heard around the world. See some of the best, below.

Photo via Getty

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
Music

K-pop's The Deep Is Bringing Y2K Back

By Ryan Khosravi