Why Did Will Smith Slap Chris Rock Live On Stage At The Oscars? 

The 94th Academy Awards saw some major wins and some major drama. While the wins were expected, the shocking drama took place between Chris Rock and Will Smith. While presenting an award, Chris Rock joked about how Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife, looked like G.I. Jane.

Initially, Smith brushed off the incident with an awkward smile, but he later walked up to Chris Rock and slapped him during the live ceremony. He later returned to his seat and said: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”

The incident which is being debated if it was scripted or not, certainly left an air of awkwardness among the audience. Chris Rock tried to make light of the situation, by saying “Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me” and “that was the greatest night in the history of television.”

Image credits – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Jada Pinkett Smith has been open about her struggle with alopecia, a condition that causes excessive hair fall. Considering the lack of sensitivity, it’s not surprising then, the couple did not take the joke too well.

Later on Instagram, Jada shared a video that said, “Now at this point, I can only laugh. Y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia and just all of a sudden one day, look at this line right here. Look at that.”

It is been reported that during the commercial break, presenter Daniel Kaluuya came up to hug Smith, while Denzel Washington escorted him to the side of the stage. Tyler Perry joined the discussion as well.

During his speech after winning the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in King Richard, Smith broke down and apologized for his actions. So far, it has been confirmed that Chris Rock has declined to file a police report against Smith.

Given how the incident shocked everyone, fans have been flooding Twitter with their reactions. Here are some of our favourite ones: