Inside the Oscars: Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock Overshadowed the Ceremony
variety.comWill Smith stormed the stage as Chris Rock was presenting best documentary feature, and slapped Rock in the face. The loud thud echoed through the top mezzanine floors of the Dolby Theatre, almost sounding like a sound effect from an action movie.Many in the auditorium initially thought that Smith was pretending to be upset that Rock had made a joke at the expense of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who was seated by his side.
The presenter had improvised a joke on the spot, asking if Pinkett Smith was going to be in “G.I. Jane 2” because of her shaved head. “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me,” Rock said, stunned at what had just happened.
But then Smith kept going, and it became clear that this wasn’t a sketch. As the “King Richard” actor returned to his table, just a feet from the stage, he started yelling at Rock. “Get my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth,” Smith said.“Wow, dude,” Rock said. “It was a ‘G.I.
Jane’ joke.”Smith yelled back at Rock, repeating the same words — but louder. Rock managed to move on and award the prize, but the exchange — an act of violence from the night’s eventual best actor winner — cast a shadow over the 94th annual Academy Awards. (Smith has so far declined to comment, but he did apologize later in his acceptance speech.)As the telecast — which had been drawing laughter from hosts Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall — continued on, the Oscars turned into two shows.
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