Topline
Actor Will Smith stormed the Oscar stage and smacked comedian Chris Rock in the face Sunday and screamed at him to keep “his wife’s name” out of his “f**king mouth” after Rock cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, who is bald and has alopecia, appearing in a “G.I. Jane” sequel.
Will Smith (R) slaps US actor Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in … [+]
Key Facts
After Pinkett Smith appeared at the ceremony with a shaved head, Rock joked that she looked ready for “G.I. Jane 2.”
Smith, who was seated close to the stage, walked up to Rock and hit him in the face.
Though audio of the U.S. broadcast was cut, the full clip of the incident apparently appeared on international broadcasts and was shared on Twitter and showed Rock saying Smith “smacked the s**t” of of him and then telling Smith it was just “a G.I. Jane joke.”
Smith then yelled at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f**king mouth.”
Many viewers were confused if the argument was a planned bit or not, though it does not appear to be.
While accepting his award for Best Actor shortly after, Smith was moved to tears and said he wanted to be “an ambassador of love” and apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees.
Key Background
In 2018, Pinkett Smith revealed she has alopecia, a disorder that causes hair loss and baldness. Rock has joked about Pinkett Smith before. When hosting the 2016 Oscars, Rock mocked the actress for boycotting the ceremony in protest of the lack of diverse nominees. “Jada got mad, said she’s not coming. Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited,” Rock said at the time. “You get mad. It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West.”
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/03/27/shocking-oscar-moment-will-smith-smacks-chris-rock-in-the-face-during-oscars-after-joke-about-wife-jada-pinkett-smith/