Will Smith came up to defend his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith during the Oscars on Sunday. The Academy Awards briefly came to a stunning halt. Audio was cut during the live broadcast after Smith walked on stage and apparently slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada.
Over the years, viewers have seen staged moments during award shows to get a good laugh from the attendance but according to a person close to the Academy’s production, the slap from Will Smith wasn’t planned.
Will Smith Wins Oscar for Best-Actor
Smith, who was a best-actor nominee for his role as Richard Williams (father of tennis stars Venus and Serena) in the biopic film titled King Richard. He would end up winning the award close to an hour later.
Smith was very emotional during his speech. He even revealed what Denzel Washington said to him. “At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you,” said Smith.
Smith didn’t speak of Chris Rock directly, but apologized to the academy and the other nominees for the disruption. “I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams,” Smith said. He was probably trying to lighten the mood in the room that still looked stunned from the incident. “But love will make you do crazy things.”
The incident started when Rock came on stage to present the award for best documentary. He first started riffing on some celebrities in attendance. “Jada, I love you: ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said — making a reference to Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald hair cut. (Pinkett Smith spoke out about her alopecia diagnosis several years ago.)
The camera cut to the celebrity couple. It even showed Smith laughing. His wife didn’t seem to look pleased.
Chris Rock then asked, “who, me?” with his arms up gesturing to some of the groaning crowd. “That was a nice one,” Rock said with a grin. When things seem to be continuing normally, the Oscar nominee abruptly left his seat and made his way up on stage.
“Uh oh!” Rock said playfully. While Rock was still laughing, Smith walked up to Rock and slapped his face. At this point, viewers and maybe even the audience in attendance were wondering if this was staged.
ABC cut the sound from the broadcast. There was about 20 seconds of silence before audio resumed. However, clips from international TV are making rounds on social media showing the dialogue between the two actors.
Dialogue Between the Two Stars After Slap
“Oh, wow!” Rock said as Smith walked back to his seat. “Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s— out of me.”
“Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth,” Smith yelled after he sat back down.
“Wow, dude,” Rock said. “It was a ‘G.I. Jane’ joke.”
“Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth!” Smith shouted louder.
“I’m going to. Okay?” Rock said, shaking his head. “Okay.”
You can watch the video tweeted below.
After the awkward moment, Rock, who seemed visibly shaken, moved on with the best documentary nominees and winner.
After receiving the best-actor award, Smith started his speech with what seemed to connect to what had just happened.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said, while in tears, getting a few chuckles from the audience. “In this time of my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.”
Smith ended by saying, “I’m hoping the academy invites me back.”
VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rock pic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 28, 2022
