In a wild and what appeared to be an unscripted moment at the Oscars, actor Will Smith strode to the stage and landed a punch on Chris Rock after the comedian cracked a joke about the Hollywood star's wife Jada Pinkett-Smith. Will Smith later won the best actor Oscar for his role in biographical drama King Richard.
The exchange started when Rock came on stage to announce the winners for best documentary feature award.
Before revealing the winner, Rock decided to land a joke on Pinkett-Smith, saying that she could star in the sequel to GI Jane, to which she was seen rolling her eyes. The joke was in reference to Pinkett-Smith's shaved head because of autoimmune disorder alopecia but it didn't go down well with Smith, who went up to the stage and punched Rock, leaving everybody in attendance shocked over the events.
After receiving the jab from the actor, Rock said, "Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*t out of me." Once he reached back to his seat, Smith shouted at Rock, saying, "Keep my wife's name out of your f**ing mouth!".
Watch the video below.
MAYHEM BETWEEN CHRIS ROCK AND WILL SMITH AT THE #Oscars pic.twitter.com/265hGbsEDg
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) March 28, 2022
After Rock announced the winners of the best documentary feature award, Diddy was the next presenter during the ceremony.
The rapper, who appeared to introduce the 50th anniversary celebration to The Godfather , addressed the situation by saying, "Will and Chris, we're going to solve that like a family. Right now we're moving on with love. Everybody make some noise."
After receiving the Oscar, Will Smith delivered lengthy remarks where he broke down repeatedly. He also apologised to the Academy and fellow nominees for the incident.
Watch Will Smith’s speech after receiving the Oscar.
"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family..."
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 28, 2022
Will Smith accepts @TheAcademy Award for Best Actor in @KingRichardFilm.#Oscarshttps://t.co/EViXaQY1NZ pic.twitter.com/Od1w6n3t9B
This year's ceremony, held at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood (formerly Hollywood & Highland), is being hosted by Wanda Sykes, Amy Schumer and Regina Hall.