Chris Rock made a joke referencing Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head.- Her husband,
Will Smith , then walked on stage and appeared to slap Rock.
In one of the most shocking moments in awards season history, Will Smith appears to have hit Chris Rock on the Oscars stage.
Rock was presenting the award for best documentary feature but dropped a few jokes before announcing the winner. One of them was directed towards Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, when Rock said "Can't wait for G.I. Jane 2." Rock was seemingly making a reference to Pinkett Smith's bald head.
Moments later, Smith walks on stage and hits Rock across the face.
Rock responds by saying, "Oh, wow."
In the version that was not censored overseas, which was shared by international viewers on Twitter, you can then see Rock say, "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me."
Smith then walks back to his chair next to his wife and yells to Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!"
—David Mack (@davidmackau) March 28, 2022
Pinkett Smith has spoken out in the past about having alopecia, which has led to hair loss.
In December, Pinkett Smith posted a video of herself on Instagram in which she revealed her baldness.
"Look at this line right here," Pinkett Smith said while pointing at her scalp. "Now this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide, so I thought I'd just share it so y'all not asking any questions — but you know, mama's going to put some rhinestones in there, and I'm going to make me a little crown."
Insider contacted both Smith and Rock's reps but didn't get an immediate response.
Following the incident, fellow actors came to console Smith, including Bradley Cooper, who offered Smith a hug.
Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry also came and talked to him, photos show. During Smith's acceptance speech for best actor a bit later in the night, Smith said in that moment Washington told him that at your highest moment is "when the devil comes for you."
"Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father," Smith also said during his acceptance speech, seemingly referring to hitting Rock. "But love will make you do crazy things."
At the end of his speech, Smith joked about hoping the Academy would invite him back next year.
Following the show, Variety reported that, according to the Los Angeles Police Department, Rock declined to press charges. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sent out a tweet late Sunday night saying it "does not condone violence of any form."
Later in the evening, Smith was seen at an afterparty dancing to his hit 1997 song "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It," and Diddy told Page Six that both Smith and Rock made up following the incident.
"That's not a problem. That's over. I can confirm that," Diddy told the outlet at the Vanity Fair Oscars after party.