Will Smith Smacks Chris Rock At Oscars 2022 After Joke On Wife Jada Pinkett Gone Wrong

The Oscar ceremony night on Sunday appeared to be quite eventful as an angry Will Smith was seen marching on stage and slapping presenter Chris Rock hard in the face after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, actor Jada Pinkett Smith. 

Apparently, Rock was on stage presenting the award for the best documentary. He chose to present it by making a few jokes to the audience. One of his targets was Pinkett Smith, referring to her as “G.I. Jane” due to her closely cropped hair. (Pinkett Smith has been vocal in the past about her struggle with alopecia.)

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His distasteful joke definitely didn't sit well with Smith as he walked towards the stage and slapped Rock right in the face before going back to his seat and shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.”

As one watches the telecast, it is difficult to comprehend if the slap was scripted. However, the show's audio immediately went mute after Smith went back to his seat as Rock said: “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me,” while Smith walked away.

When Smith yelled from his seat, Rock, still onstage, seemed stunned.

“Wow, dude,” replied Rock “It was a G.I. Jane joke.”

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Rock then went on to present the documentary prize to Summer of Soul director Questlove. 

Immediately after, Sean “Diddy” Combs came onstage to introduce a clip montage celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Godfather. “I didn’t know that this year was going to be the most exciting Oscars ever!” he said. “Okay, Will, Chris—we’re going to solve that like family. But right now, we’re moving on with love.”

Later in the press room, Questlove refused to answer questions about the altercation. Reporters in the press room were also told they could no longer ask questions about other parts of the show, presumably to head off any more queries about the slap. 

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According to Vanity Fair’s Rebecca Ford, Denzel Washington later pulled Smith to the corner, kneeling alongside Pinkett Smith when the show returned from the commercial break.

Tyler Perry also joined Washington and Smith during the commercial break. The Smiths, per Ford, held hands at their seat for the rest of the show after the assault. 

An Academy librarian confirmed to V.F.’s Joy Press that this was likely the first time there any kind of violence on stage has been witnessed during the ceremony. Even though this isn't the first time, Rock has targetted Pinkett Smith for his jokes.

Reportedly, during the 2016 ceremony, which Rock hosted, he poked fun at Pinkett Smith for boycotting that year’s ceremony. “Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties,” Rock said at the time. “I wasn’t invited.”

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Also, this is not the first time Rock and Smith have crossed paths this Oscar season.

At the National Board of Review gala in mid-March, Rock was on hand to present Paul Thomas Anderson with an award. However, he took a moment to praise Smith, another winner that night, for his performance in King Richard. “Goddammit, Will,” Rock said, raving about the actor’s performance.

After the incident, backstage at the Oscars, Rock played down his violent encounter with Smith.

One witness said Rock referenced Smith’s portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the Oscar-nominated biopic about the late boxer. “That’s the only time you get hit by Muhammad Ali and it doesn’t leave a scratch,’” Rock purportedly said. 

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Smith was in attendance at this year’s Oscars to collect the best-actor prize for his performance in King Richard. 

As expected the actor won the award. In his tear-filled speech, Smith compared himself to Richard Williams, a man who is also known as “a fierce defender of his family.”

“I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you, and you’ve got to smile and you’ve got to pretend like that’s okay.… I look like the crazy father, just like they said.… Love will make you do crazy things.”

He concluded his speech by apologizing to the Academy and to his fellow nominees. “I hope the Academy invites me back,” Smith added. 

After a commercial break, cohost Amy Schumer made sure to refer to the incident about Rock and Smith. “I’ve been getting out of that Spider-Man costume. Did I miss anything?” she asked as the audience—Smith included—laughed. “There’s, like, a different vibe in here. Probably not. Well, anyway—okay.”