{"id":53698,"date":"2022-03-28T20:37:29","date_gmt":"2022-03-28T20:37:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=53698"},"modified":"2022-03-29T15:22:06","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T15:22:06","slug":"will-smith-chris-rock-2022-oscars-slap-reactions","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/will-smith-chris-rock-2022-oscars-slap-reactions\/","title":{"rendered":"What Everyone’s Saying Today About Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Myung Chun \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 2022 Academy Awards<\/a> ceremony turned out to be very memorable, but not for reasons we would have thought. Hollywood\u2019s biggest night took an unexpected turn when Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face after telling a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith\u2019s shaved head<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While presenting the award for Best Documentary, Chris Rock joked, \u201cJada, I love ya. G.I. Jane<\/em> 2 can\u2019t wait to see it.” Comparing the Red Table Talk<\/em> host\u2019s buzzcut to that of Demi Moore’s shaved head in the 1997 Navy SEAL film, Pinkett Smith reacted by rolling her eyes while seated in the audience.<\/p>\n

Pinkett Smith has been vocal about experiencing alopecia<\/a>, an autoimmune deficiency that results in rapid hair loss. The jab incited the altercation with the King Richard<\/em> star (who later was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor). After taking to the stage to smack Rock, Smith swiftly walked back to his seat, continuing to yell at the Fargo<\/em> actor, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth.”<\/p>\n

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Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Myung Chun \/ Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While apologizing to the Academy and his fellow nominees in his acceptance speech, Smith left out any remorse directed to Rock specifically. Since then, Rock has declined to press charges<\/a> against the former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air <\/em>star. <\/em>While rumors continue to swirl about the possibility of Smith’s Oscar being revoked by the Academy, the actor has yet to speak with the press. Smith is set to reportedly break his silence<\/a> on the altercation on his wife\u2019s Facebook talk show, Red Table Talk<\/em> as early as this week.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, the moment is all anyone is talking about today \u2014 including fellow celebs. While some are praising Smith’s actions for coming to his wife’s defense, others are condemning his violent behavior, and noting the attention taken away from Questlove, who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary for his film Summer of Soul <\/em>immediately after the smack.<\/p>\n

During the show, Amy Schumer (who co-hosted alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall) reentered the stage saying, “I’ve been getting out of that Spider-Man costume. Did I miss anything? There’s, like, a different vibe in here.”<\/p>\n

Of course, memes have been circulating on social media all day Monday, including Lupita Nyong’o’s reaction<\/a> to the encounter while seated behind Smith and a shocked photo of Nicole Kidman (above). However, the photographer clarified on Monday that Kidman’s photo was actually snapped at a different time<\/a> during the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Later Monday night, Smith took to Instagram<\/a> to acknowledge his behavior and publicly apologize to Rock. “My behavior at last night\u2019s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada\u2019s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.”<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Will Smith (@willsmith)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n