The Sunday, March 27 live telecast of the 2022 Academy Awards took a dramatic turn when actor Will Smith walked up to the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock after Rock made a joke referencing the shaved head of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Chris Rock, on stage presenting the award for best documentary, joked that he couldn’t wait to see Pinkett Smith in G.I. Jane 2, alluding to the 1997 movie starring Demi Moore whose character shaves her head to make it through military training. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss, and though she has been publicly vocal about her condition as the reason for her look, it is unclear if Rock knew about it. In an unexpected turn of events, Smith left his seat in the front row, walked up, and slapped Rock, and back in his seat shouted at Rock to not mention his wife. A stunned Rock did his best to remain composed and went on to present the award.
Several minutes after the incident, Smith was announced as the best actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, in the movie King Richard. In his acceptance speech, Smith apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees, though he did not apologise to Rock. The next day, Smith apologised to Rock via Instagram.
The Los Angeles Police Department in a statement said that Rock “declined to file a police report” the night of the incident. Rock in his first comedy show on Wednesday following the incident admitted he was “still processing” what had happened and would talk about it later.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences condemned Smith’s action in statements and clarified that Smith was asked to leave the ceremony but Smith refused to do so, though this request is been disputed by other sources. The Academy officials have launched disciplinary proceedings, and it is expected they would announce whether Smith will be suspended, expelled or face other sanctions in the coming weeks.