Will Smith and Chris Rock's now-infamous confrontation at the performance in King Richard. The film revolved around Richard Williams, father to tennis superstars Venus and Serena as he attempts to foster their talents and lead them to fame.
During Rock's opening monologue at the Oscars 2022 show, the comedian made a joke regarding Pinkett Smith's shaved head, which stemmed from her recent alopecia diagnosis, expressing excitement to see the Daytime Emmy winner starring in a G.I. Jane sequel. Despite chuckling at the joke, Smith swiftly took to the stage and delivered a hard slap to Rock's face before returning to his seat next to Pinkett Smith and shouted for the Golden Globe-nominated comedian to refrain from mentioning her. Smith and Rock's Oscars 2022 confrontation immediately sparked conversation as many networks took to cutting away from the show entirely until the situation settled, and now audiences who missed it are getting their first full look at what happened.
On the heels of cellphone-recorded videos of the incident, YouTube HighlandSp78 has shared Will Smith and Chris Rock's now-infamous Oscars 2022 confrontation. In response to a joke Rock made at the expense of Jada Pinkett Smith's hairstyle, Smith took to the stage and slapped the comedian across the face and profanely demanded he keep his wife's "name out your mouth." Watch the uncensored moment below:
Despite the violent confrontation and profane outburst, Smith would still go on to win the Oscar for his King Richard performance, beating out fellow nominees Javier Bardem for Being the Ricardos, Benedict Cumberbatch for The Power of the Dog, Andrew Garfield for Tick, Tick...Boom! and Denzel Washington for The Tragedy of Macbeth. Smith was subsequently consoled by Washington, Bradley Cooper and Tyler Perry during the commercial break after the moment. In his acceptance speech, the star would get emotional over having won and attempted to defend his actions as coming from a place of love, which "will make you do crazy things," though didn't apologize to Rock or the crowd for the incident.
In the hours since Smith slapped Rock at the Oscars 2022 ceremony, the latter has reportedly elected to not file charges against the former with the Los Angeles Police Department, though the LAPD released a statement saying they will be available "to complete an investigative report" if Rock changes his mind. The Academy has also issued a statement in regards to the confrontation, assuring they don't "condone violence of any form" while expressing delight to celebrate the winners. Though Will, Jada and Rock have remained quiet since, Jaden Smith has come out in defense of his father, saying simply "And that's how we do it."
Source: HighlandSp78