The 2022 Oscars proved to be a memorable show with moments that will be talked about for years to come. These moments range from star studded reunions such as the cast of The Godfather and Pulp fiction. There were multiple firsts in Oscars history this year, such as Troy Kostar becoming the first deaf man to win an Oscar and Ariana DeBose becoming the first openly queer woman of color to win an Oscar. However the spotlight was permanently fixed to one particular moment now known as the slap.
Actor and comedian Chris Rock took the stage at the Oscars to present the academy award for best documentary. Before announcing the winner Chris Rock began to tell jokes as a way of waking up a dead crowd. The final joke he told opted to be the one that got him into most trouble.
“Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
Chris Rock
Will Smith, who was still laughing from previous remarks, suddenly shifted emotions and walked onto the stage. Jada, who suffers from Alopecia which causes hair loss, was being compared to Demi Moore’s character who has a shaved head in the film G.I Jane. As Smith walked on stage Chris Rock took two steps back before Will Smith slapped him across the face on national television. Smith then turned around and walked back to his front row seat.
Rock, clearly shaken by the attack, recuperated with “Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me.” This was then followed by Will Smith yelling “Keep my wife’s name out your f*****g mouth!” from his seat. He would go on to say it again, this time making the room completely silent. Chris Rock said he would and then remarked that this altercation was the greatest moment in TV history after which he finally presented the award.
Social media immediately lit up as many viewers contemplated whether or not it was real or staged. Many pointed to the Oscars poor viewership over the recent years as evidence that it was staged to increase numbers. Others looked at the way celebrities at the event reacted which would indicate it was real. However the discussion quickly turned to if Will Smith was right to hit Chris Rock.
Actor Jim Carrey called Smith’s actions sickening. He would continue to say “I was sickened by the standing ovation. I felt like Hollywood is just spineless en masse. It really felt like, ‘Oh, this is a really clear indication that we’re not the cool club anymore.’” Similar comments were made by Mark Hamill who tweeted “Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers. Violent physical assault… not so much.” He finished the tweet with #UgliestOscarMoment_Ever.
Will Smith would go on to win the academy award for best actor in a leading role. During his speech he would apologize to the academy and his fellow nominees. He later would take to Instagram to issue an apology to Chris Rock. In the post he states “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally… 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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
The Academy also issued a statement saying, “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show… We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our bylaws, standards of conduct and California law.”