It wasn't scripted! Will Smith slaps Chris Rock in a fit of anger at Oscars 2022, apologises during his Best Actor speech

Best actor nominee Will Smith lodged a not-so-playful slap on presenter Chris Rock’s face, and although it was done with an animated gesture, as the F-word followed in Smith’s angry voice, many audience members present at the Dolby theatre including viewers at home were left wondering if it was a scripted act, done to offer a comical interlude at the Academy Awards or was it Smith reacting to Rock’s jibe at his wife.

As Chris Rock took the stage to introduce the Best Documentary feature, he made a joke about Smith’s wife and compared the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith to 'G.I. Jane' because of her bald head. For those of you who do not know, Pinkett-Smith had previously opened up about a hair loss condition which she suffers from, that causes the baldness.
After hearing Rock’s pass, Will Smith went onto the stage, and slapped the presenter. The ‘Men In Black’ actor then screamed twice at the top of his lungs "Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth,” and walked away.


Here's the complete list of winners at the Academy Awards 2022

While Rock tried to smile awkwardly after being slapped, his face grew serious in no time. The actor quickly made the announcement, and left the stage.

This isn’t the first time that Rock had tried to take a dig at Smith’s wife. When Chris Rock hosted the Oscars before, he had mocked the star’s wife and said, “Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties—I wasn’t invited!”.

According to a report in The Guardian, during the commercial break, Denzel Washington pulled Smith over to the side for a conversation, and was kneeling with his arm around Jada Pinkett Smith when the show came back from commercial. Meanwhile in the lobby, people huddled around their phones watching replays of the incident. “I don’t think that’s a joke,” one woman said.

However, things changed after Smith won the Best Actor award at the Oscars for playing the determined father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. The actor took the stage in tears, and apologised for his earlier conduct.

He said, "At your highest moment, be careful because that’s when the devil comes for you.. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father. But love will make you do crazy things."

After saying his thanks, the actor Will Smith ended the speech by saying, " I hope the Academy invites me back."