In what may be the most insane moment in the history of the Academy Awards, Will Smith jumped onstage and smacked Chris Rock while the comedian was presenting the Best Documentary at the 2022 Oscars.
The unscripted moment arrived after the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair loss, a symptom of alopecia. “Jada, love you, G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” Rock said, before the actress rolled her eyes. Will appeared to laugh at the joke at first but then walked up onstage, hit Rock, and returned to his seat.
The sound was cut, but Smith yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” twice. Rock told the audience, “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me. It was a G.I. Jane joke. That was the greatest night in the history of television.”
Footage shows Tyler Perry and Denzel Washington comforting Smith moments after the feud, with Smith appearing to wipe his eyes. Smith later revealed during his acceptance for the Best Actor that Washington told him, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”
Immediately following the incident, Rock announced that the Questlove-directed Summer of Soul won the award. Backstage, a reporter asked Questlove about the vibe in the room when he started his speech. “I’m not talking about that,” Questlove said, staring straight ahead and appearing to be frustrated. “This is about the Harlem Cultural Festival.”
Later, Smith won Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams in King Richard, (the film received six nominations total). He approached the stage with a smile, saying, “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of family. In this time of my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what god is calling on me to do and be in this world. I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people … I know to do what we do, you have to be able to take abuse. And you have to smile and pretend that that’s okay.”
Last December, Jada spoke about her alopecia on Instagram, writing, “Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
This isn’t the first time Rock has joked about the couple. When he hosted the Oscars in 2016, he said, “Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties — I wasn’t invited!”
