Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at the Oscars After Joke About Wife Jada

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars after taking offense to a joke he told about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Rock was there to present Best Documentary, and true to form as a stand-up comic, began sending barbs out into the crowd. After making a quip about Denzel Washington, Rock turned his attention to Jada Pinkett Smith, saying he was looking forward to seeing her in G.I. Jane II. (Pinkett-Smith was sporting a buzzcut, just like Demi Moore’s character in the 1997 film G.I. Jane). But Pinkett-Smith has been open about her struggles with hair loss and bald spots caused by alopecia. “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something,” she wrote on Instagram in December. “Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
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Pinkett-Smith rolled her eyes after Rock’s joke. The Oscars telecast then went mute for a spell as Smith walked to the stage and hit Rock. Telecasts in Japan and other countries aired the whole thing. “Will Smith just smacked he sh-t out of me,” said a stunned Rock. Smith responded: “Keep your wife’s name out my f-cking mouth,” and repeated the phrase.

VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rock pic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 28, 2022

The moment sent the Dolby Theater into a stunned panic and caused a firestorm on Twitter. A few minutes later, P Diddy tried to defuse the situation, saying: “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve this like family at the Gold Party.”

omg was that real

— MONTERO (@LilNasX) March 28, 2022

What just happened.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 28, 2022

everyone in the room looks so freaked out. Congratulations to Will Smith, America’s most beloved movie star (1990s division) for absolutely derailing this broadcast

— Daniel D'Addario (@DPD_) March 28, 2022

On Twitter, Vanity Fair reporter Rebecca Ford reported that Washington played mediator in the situation.

During this break, Denzel pulled Will aside to talk to him and they walk away from their seats together. Denzel now has his arm around Jada and is kneeling next to her even though the show has started. #Oscars

— Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) March 28, 2022

It’s not the first time Rock has made a joke at the couple’s expense at the Oscars. When Rock hosted the Oscars in 2016, he brought the couple up in the context of the #OscarsSoWhite boycott, which Pinkett-Smith supported. “Jada’s going to boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna‘s panties. I wasn’t invited!” he said.

And many jokes were directed at Smith and Pinkett-Smith earlier in the night. When co-host Regina Hall delivered a bit insinuating she wanted to sleep with many of the famous actors at the Oscars, she poked fun at the couple’s marital situation, which Smith has acknowledged is an open relationship. “You’re married, but you know what? You’re on the list, and it looks like Jada approved you, so you get on up here!” Hall said to Smith.

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