And how the Academy is investigating the incident.
The 2022 Oscars ceremony might just go down in history as one of the most infamous award shows of all time — and not because of who took home a trophy. As you’ve already heard by now, Will Smith shocked the world by storming on stage to slap Chris Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s short hairstyle.
Specifically, Rock compared Jada’s look to G.I. Jane. Smith promptly took to the stage and slapped Rock shortly after. Video of the incident can be seen below. Many audience members were unclear as to whether or not this was a staged interaction, but unedited footage of the event revealed Smith to shout at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!” According a report from TMZ, Rock was not aware that Jada has a medical condition called alopecia, which is responsible for her hair loss.
Following the incident, Smith went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. During his acceptance speech, Smith apologized to the Academy (but not to Rock) and explained that his actions were a form of “love” for his family. You can watch his full acceptance speech below.
The Academy did eventually release a cryptic statement on the matter to Twitter on Sunday evening. “The Academy does not condone violence of any form,” the tweet read. “Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
There has been widespread speculation regarding whether the Academy will take any additional action with Smith, like taking his Oscar back. There’s no indication yet that this will happen, but on Monday, the Academy did confirm that it will launch a formal investigation into the incident. The statement read, “The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law.”
Also on Monday, the actors’ union SAG-AFTRA said it was “focused on ensuring our members always work in a safe environment.”
“Violence or physical abuse in the workplace is never appropriate and the union condemns any such conduct,” the SAG-AFTRA statement said. “The incident involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable. We have been in contact with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and ABC about this incident, and will work to ensure this behavior is appropriately addressed.”
Though Smith did not apologize to Rock during his speech on the Oscars telecast, he did so in comments posted to his Instagram account on Monday evening.
The shocking incident become such a monumental moment not just because of what physically happened on stage, but also because of how quickly it drew divided opinions, with many coming to defend and contextualize Smith’s actions, and many others swiftly condemning his violence.
In defense of Smith: Hollywood A-listers rally behind the Oscar winner
Following the event, actress Tiffany Haddish was one of the first Oscar attendees to make a public show of support for Smith. “Maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” she told People, “because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives.”
Rapper Nicki Minaj did not attend the Oscars, but also defended Smith’s actions via a series of tweets. “You just got to witness in real time what happens in a man’s soul when he looks over to the woman he loves & sees her holding back tears from a ‘little joke’ at her expense,” the rapper tweeted. “This is what any & every real man feels in that instant. while y’all seeing the joke he’s seeing her pain.”
Author and producer Iyanla Vanzant tweeted, “Beloved Will Smith has set a whole new standard for what it means to ‘protect’ and honor your wife — Be Mindful! And…in the midst of it, Beloved Mr. Will Packer did and amazingly phenomenal job producing this years’ Oscars! Yes to the Wills!”
A former co-star of Smith’s also took to social media to back him up. Janet Hubert, who played Vivian Banks alongside Smith in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, wrote on Instagram, “There is only so much one can take…sometimes you have to slap back. Celebrate the win…nothing else matters. Both actions were incorrect but Chris didn’t need to go there. Met him once…it was enough for me…very mean spirited.”
“That’s a show of violence”: Criticism of Smith’s behavior spreads
While Smith’s actions may have received a show of support from some, they’ve also been swiftly condemned by many others.
On Monday morning, the hosts of The View all collectively agreed that Smith’s behavior was unacceptable. “When you live publicly, you don’t have the right to all of a sudden decide to execute violence,” host Sunny Hostin said at one point. “I have to say, that was a show of toxic masculinity. If he was offended and felt emasculated by Regina Hall’s joke, or by Chris Rock’s joke, you don’t act out in violence. That is not a show of love,” she said, quoting Smith’s own defense of his behavior, “that’s a show of violence.”
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg shared a similar sentiment. At first she simply said, “I think he overreacted.” Later on in the show, however, she elaborated. “I get it,” she said. “Not everybody acts the way we would like them to under pressure,” she said. “Some people just snap. He snapped. What I do wanna say is I think it’s remarkable and wonderful that Chris Rock did not take it to that other place it could have gone.”
At another point, Goldberg clarified the limits of her criticism for Smith as well. “We’re not going to take that Oscar from him,” she said. “There will be consequences I’m sure, but I don’t think that’s what they’re going to do, particularly because Chris said, ‘Listen, I’m not pressing any charges.’”
Comedian Kathy Griffin also weighed in on the situation. “Let me tell you something,” she tweeted. “It’s a very bad practice to walk up on stage and physically assault a Comedian. Now we all have to worry about who wants to be the next Will Smith in comedy clubs and theaters.”
TODAY show co-anchor Craig Melvin also took time on Monday morning to slam Smith’s behavior. During the morning broadcast, Melvin said, “If you’re raising a boy, especially in this country, you spend so much time talking to that kid about keeping your hands to yourself, controlling your emotions. And then there’s also this long-held perception in this country that men of color, especially, can’t control their rage and their anger. Just to see someone who was that beloved for decades, it was troubling on so many levels.”
