People have always enjoyed the Oscars as a way to recognize A-list actors and actresses, directors, and designers for their outstanding work in film. 2021 has especially been a year with impressive films including Spider-Man: No Way Home, Tick Tick Boom, and King Richard. 

This year, some of the best actors and actresses in the world were present for the 2022 Oscars including Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, and Kristen Stewart. While this event was certainly held to celebrate the talent from the movies released in 2021, the event was overshadowed by Will Smith going up on stage and slapping the host, Chris Rock. 

Immediately after the slap, Chris Rock chuckled, “Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me!” During his piece, Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her lack of hair due to a medical condition called alopecia. Rock commented on her appearance and said that he was excited for the new G.I. Jane movie.

Smith proceeded to walk on stage and slap Chris Rock for mentioning his wife’s name in this manner. As he sat back down, Will Smith yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out your f*cking mouth!” Rock chuckled again, “Wow, dude! It was a G.I. Jane joke!” Will repeated his previous statement, and Rock decided to continue on with the show after a little hesitation. 

A few days after the incident, Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock publicly on his Instagram page, “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

He also apologized to the people running the event and the fellow actors and actresses that were present, saying, “I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.” 

Chris Rock had the opportunity to press charges against Will Smith for this incident, but he decided to simply forgive Smith. Many people have chosen to side with Smith, as the joke poked fun at Jada’s medical condition. Smith added in his apology that “a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me [him] to bear and I [he] reacted emotionally.” 

Will Smith did concede his fault in this situation and showed that he was the one to blame for overreacting. Many rumors were surfacing of Will Smith getting his Oscars award revoked, but this has proven to be false. Regardless, Will Smith still ended the night winning the best actor of the year with his King Richard movie and began to tear up during his speech.