Chris Rock and Will Smith have been in an embarrassing altercation during the Oscars 2022 broadcast. Rock appeared on stage to present the Oscar for best documentary feature and made an unfortunate joke about Jada Pinkett Smith being in 'Lieutenant O'Neil ' for his shaved head. Smith came onstage and slapped Rock.
A painful controversy
Although it seemed like a joke at first, Smith returned to his seat and yelled at Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!", visibly angry and beside himself. Many of those in attendance seemed stunned by the altercation, unsure if it was a prank. Diddy was the next presenter during the ceremony, where he appeared to introduce the 'Godfather' 50th anniversary celebration. Diddy addressed the situation by saying, “Will and Chris, we're going to figure that out as a family. Right now we are moving forward with love."
The video with sound of the incident is particularly unpleasant, since the American ABC broadcast cut the sound at the time of the slap. Will Smith's publicist, Meredith O. Sullivan, approached him during the commercial break for a chat.
Also during the commercial break, Will Smith is pulled away and comforted by Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper, and Tyler Perry, who tell him to ignore him. Will seems to wipe tears from his eyes as he sits down with Jada again, with Denzel comforting Jada and Will's manager next to him.
Pinkett Smith announced last year that she had to shave her head after battling alopecia. The actress herself said in an Instagram post:
“Now at this point I can only laugh…everyone knows I've been battling alopecia. Suddenly one day...she just showed up like this. Now this is going to be a little harder for me to hide. So, I thought I'd share it so they don't ask questions... Mom will have to scalp it so no one thinks she had brain surgery or something. This alopecia and I are going to be friends… period!”
But perhaps the most awkward moment of the night took place later, when the interpreter was going to collect the Best Actor award for playing Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena, in 'The Williams Method' (King Richard). He was there for it and the whole ceremony was completely derailed by what happened beforehand, so when he went to collect the statuette with tears in his eyes, but not with emotion, after receiving a standing ovation, using his speech to apologize visibly affected, in an awkward and strange environment he was able to half-way out of the incident.
The incident has created stupefaction in networks, and many have ventured to believe that Smith should have been expelled from the gala, even that they should take away the Oscar. The actor's entire acceptance speech was full of allusions to what had just happened and apologies to the Academy and nominees, but he stopped short of mentioning the victim, Chris Rock. You can read it below:
"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. At this time in my life, right now, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling me to do and be in this world. In making this film, I had to protect Aunjanue Ellis , who is one of the strongest and most delicate people I have ever met. I have to protect Sinai and Demi, the two actresses who play Venus and Serena. I am being called in my life to love people. And protect people and be a river for my people.
I know, to do what we do, we have to be able to take abuse. You have to be able to make people talk about you insanely. In this business you have to be able to let people disrespect you and you have to smile and pretend it's okay. Denzel told me a few minutes ago, 'At your highest point, be careful, that's when the devil comes for you.' I want to be a vessel for love. I want to say, thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for trusting me with your story.
I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care. I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all of my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying about winning an award. It's not about winning an award for me, it's about being able to shine so bright in everyone... and the whole 'King Richard' cast and crew and Venus and Serena and the whole Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, as they said about Richard Williams! But, love will make you do crazy things."
I hope the Academy invites me back!"
This is the moment when Rock makes the 'Lieutenant O'Neil 2' joke, Smith can be seen laughing while Pinkett is uncomfortable with the joke.
It seems that the story between Chris Rock and Will Smith goes back a long way, specifically at the 2016 Oscars, when Rock made some jokes with Jada because she was boycotting the Oscars on behalf of Will, who was one of the main supporters of the #Oscarsowhite hagstag, a protest that changed the history of ceremonies.
"Jada says she's not coming. Is she on any TV series? Is she going to boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited. That's not an invitation I'd turn down, but I get it, I'm not hating."
Will Smith and Jada probably had this moment in mind and Rock went too far for them. Finally, Will Smith has apologized to Chris Rock for his aggression at the Awards, but the consequences of this incident for the actor in the coming days have yet to be seen.
