Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock at Oscars

Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the show at the 94th Academy Awards
(Image credit: Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars, after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock made a quip that referenced Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Pinkett Smith lives with alopecia, which causes hair loss. 

“Jada, I love you,” said the comedian. “G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait.”

Demi Moore had shaved her head for her role in the 1997 movie G.I. Jane

Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes after the joke was made. Smith walked onstage and slapped Rock. After returning to his seat, he twice shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth,” as ABC bleeped out the curse. 

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Rock, evidently shaken, said, "That was uh, greatest night in the history of television."

Smith later won best actor for his role in King Richard, his first Oscar. In his speech, he apologized to the Academy and to his fellow nominees for his behavior, but did not mention Rock. An emotional Smith noted that Richard Williams, who he played in the movie about Venus and Serena Williams, “was a fierce defender of his family.”

Smith added, “I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”

CNN and other outlets reported that the Los Angeles Police Department said Rock declined to file a police report.

Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes hosted the Oscars on ABC. 

Coda won best picture, the first time a streaming service, Apple TV Plus, has won the Academy Award for best picture. ■

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.