The 2022 Academy Awards will go down as one of the most shocking and confusing nights in entertainment history. Not because of a mix-up, stage fail, or because the wrong winner was announced, but because Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage.
The incident happened after Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair, calling her G.I. Jane.
“Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me,” Rock said after Smith slapped him. When Will Smith got back to his seat, he angrily repeated “Keep my wife’s name out your f*cking mouth” to Rock. Rock replied saying “Wow dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke.” Smith didn’t want to hear it and insisted that Rock continue to keep Jada’s name out of his mouth.
After the incident, actors such as Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and even Bradley Cooper helped to calm Smith down. Even people watching at home could tell there was a shift in energy after the incident. Will later won the award for Best Actor just moments later for his performance as Richard Williams in King Richard. He started his speech off by saying where he started off by saying “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family…”
People were shocked when Will slapped Chris. Many thought it was a part of the script until it was obvious that it was not. Of course, the internet remains undefeated as one side poked jokes at the incident and the other side praised Will for defending Jada, who has admitted that she struggles with alopecia.
