Did Will Smith just hit Chris Rock in the face in defense of his wife, or was that a bit?
During Sunday’s 2022 Oscars award ceremony, Chris Rock, who was announcing the winner for Best Original Documentary, made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith being in G.I. Jane because of her shaved head and green dress. Pinkett-Smith is outspoken about her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder which causes bald spots and hair loss.
In response, Will Smith ran on stage, hit Rock (or pretended to, it’s difficult to tell), and stormed off the stage. Audio then cut on the stream, but in the uncensored exchange via Japanese television on Twitter, Rock said “oh wow, wow” after being hit.
“Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me,” Rock said.
“Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth,” Smith yelled.
“Wow, dude,” Rock said.
“Yes,” Smith responded.
“It was a GI Jane joke,” Rock said.
“Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth,” Smith repeated.
“I’m going to, OK?” Rock said. “That was the greatest night in the history of television.”
Then, Rock went on to announce that Questlove won the Oscar for Best Original Documentary.
According to Variety, Smith’s publicist walked over to Smith during the commercial break and the two had “a discussion.” Also during commercial break, Denzel Washington allegedly pulled Smith aside to talk to him.
Denzel Washington pulling Will Smith aside
Credit: Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
This is the second time Rock has made a joke at Pinkett-Smith’s expense — the first being when he hosted the show in 2016 and mocked Pinkett Smith’s choice not to attend the show.
“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited,” he said. In response, at the time, she said: “It comes with the territory, sweetheart.”
All signs might point to the interaction being real, but I’m still not totally convinced. After all, as many online pointed out, if real violence broke out, why weren’t any security actions taken?
I’m unsure whether to award Rock and Smith with the most intense interaction or the night’s weirdest bit.
