Will Smith slaps Chris Rock on stage at Oscars

 

As viewers were still processing an incident in which Will Smith walked onstage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith, the King Richard star was announced as the night’s Best Actor winner.

Rock had earlier made a joke about Pinkett Smith being in “G.I. Jane” because of her bald head. Pinkett Smith announced last year she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia. After smacking Rock in the face, Smith yelled at him, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” The Oscar audience, and viewers on social media, were stunned by Smith’s slap, which seemed like a comedic skit at first. The incident took place during the presentation of best documentary feature, which was a few categories before best actor. Smith addressed the slap immediately upon taking the stage to accept the award.