Ok.
Something unexpected just happened.
We were halfway through the 2022 Oscars when Chris Rock came on stage to present the Oscar for Best Documentary.
He made a few gags and then said to Jada Pinkett Smith, who was sitting in the front row with her husband Will Smith, "Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can't wait to see you."
It's important to note here that Pinkett Smith's head is currently shaved because she has been diagnosed with alopecia, an auto-immune disease which leads to significant hair loss.
Will Smith then walked up onto the stage, appeared to strike Rock, and then sat back down.
He then yelled out to Rock "Keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth". Twice.
Rock then said: “Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me. It was a G.I. Jane joke. That was the greatest night in the history of television.”
Below we unpack all your questions about what happened between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars:
What happened?
There's some confusion about what happened because in some countries, the broadcast was cut.
However, in other countries, such as Australia and Japan, the full incident was shown.
Australian journalist David Mack captured the uncensored version of the broadcast on Australian TV and shared it with his Twitter followers. The footage clearly shows Smith walking on stage and appearing to strike Rock, before yelling "KEEP MY WIFE'S NAME OUT OF YOUR F**KING MOUTH" twice.
Rock then said: “Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me. It was a G.I. Jane joke. That was the greatest night in the history of television.”
Footage then showed Tyler Perry and Denzel Washington comforting Smith while he wiped tears from his eyes.
Was that real?
Only Smith, Rock, God, and a bunch of Oscars producers know for sure but yes, it seems as though the incident was 100 per cent real.
The moment was so shocking to both the in person audience and people watching at home because Rock seemed visibly shaken as he attempted to recover and continue presenting.
And Smith was visibly upset in the audience.
He continued to present, and then shortly after, the stream cut out, probably because the network was attempting to censor the moment but was too late.
How did the crowd react?
Footage shows the crowd, including stars like Nicole Kidman, shocked at the incident.
How did the internet react?
There's been a mixed reaction.
While some have commended Smith for defending his wife, others have called for him to be charged with assault.
And then, of course, there's the memes.
Do Will Smith and Chris Rock have beef?
Maybe.
According to *people on the internet* Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith a few years ago too when he hosted the Oscars.
During his monologue he made a joke about Pinkett Smith boycotting the show because Will was not nominated for his role in Concussion.
Then he said "Isn't she a TV actor?"
In December 2021, Pinkett Smith spoke about her alopecia on Instagram, writing, “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends… period!”
Will Smith's acceptance speech and apology.
About 20 minutes after the incident, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his role in King Richard.
He cried throughout his acceptance speech, saying: "Love makes you do crazy things."
“Denzel [Washington] said to me, at your highest moment, be careful — that’s when devil comes for you,” he said, before adding through tears, “I want to apologise to the academy, I want to apologise to my fellow nominees.”
At the end of his speech, he joked: "I hope the academy invites me back."
What has Chris Rock said since?
According to a statement released by the LAPD, Rock declined to press charges against Smith.
"LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another," the statement read.
"The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."
More to come.
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