Photos capture Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in a moment that almost derailed the Oscars broadcast
- Will Smith appeared to hit Chris Rock at the Oscars after Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith.
- The shocking moment was cut or muted in the US broadcast, but aired in full in other countries.
The 94th Academy Awards took a shocking turn Sunday night when Will Smith appeared to slap presenter Chris Rock across the face onstage.
The moment was cut or muted during the US Oscars broadcast, but aired in full in other parts of the world.
Rock was presenting the award for best documentary feature, and dropped a few jokes before announcing the winner. One joke was aimed at Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, when he said "Can't wait for G.I. Jane 2," as Insider's Jason Guerrasio reported.
Rock was seemingly referring to Pinkett Smith's bald head. Pinkett Smith has previously spoken about having alopecia, which has led to hair loss.
Smith then walked on stage and took a swing at Rock.
He appeared to make contact with Rock's face.
Rock responded by saying, "Oh, wow."
Smith then walked back to his chair next to his wife and yelled to Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!"
During the following commercial break, photos showed Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry speaking with Smith.
Bradley Cooper also embraced Smith.
Smith later issued a tearful apology during his acceptance speech for the best actor award, saying "love will make you do crazy things."
As Insider's Cheryl Teh reported, Smith slapping Rock may have been six years in the making and the result of long-standing beef between the two. During the 2016 Oscars, when Rock hosted the event, he made a joke in his monologue about Pinkett Smith boycotting the awards show; Pinkett Smith was taking a stand against the Academy due to the lack of Black nominees that year.
"But what happened this year? People went mad. Spike Lee went mad… Jada Pinkett Smith went mad. Will Smith went mad. Everyone went mad," Rock said during his monologue. " Jada said she's not coming, protesting. Isn't she on a TV show? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties — I wasn't invited."