Rock was onstage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles to present the award for Best Documentary when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance.
“Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” he quipped in an apparent reference to the actor’s shaved head.
Pinkett Smith – who announced last year that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia – could be seen in the audience together with her husband, rolling her eyes at the joke.
After Rock’s comment, Smith stood up and proceeded to walk towards the stage.
“Uh oh…” Rock was heard uttering.
Smith then proceeded to hit Rock and then walk off stage back to his seat.
“Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me,” said Rock, looking visibly shocked at the moment.
Smith was then heard yelling: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth,” to which Rock replied: “Wow… dude. It was a GI Jane joke.”
“Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth,” Smith yells again. “I’m going to…” replied the comedian, who appeared flustered at the interaction.
“That was the greatest night in the history of television,” Rock said, before going on to present the award for Best Documentary.
Many viewers reported that the sound from the televised broadcast cut out during Smith’s outburst.
The Independent has contacted a representative of Smith’s for comment.
Denzel Washington, Bradley Cooper, and Tyler Perry were seen appearing to console Smith after the incident, with Smith revealing what Washington had said to him during his Best Actor speech for King Richard.
Earlier in the ceremony, Regina Hall – who was hosting the ceremony alongside Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes – poked fun at Smith and Pinkett Smith’s marriage.
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Smith went on to win the Oscar for Best Actor, During his speech, he tearfully apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees.
“I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse and have people talk crazy about you,” he said. “In this business you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and you gotta pretend like that’s OK.
“I wanna be a vessel for love. I wanna say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for entrusting me with your story. That’s what I wanna do. I wanna be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern.”
Smith said he wished to apologise to the Academy and to his fellow nominees for the incident. Notably, he did not apologise to Rock himself.
At the conclusion of his lengthy speech, Smith joked that he hopes the Academy “invites me back”.
After the Oscars concluded, the Academy issued a tweet that said: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
“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.”
In a statement, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that they were aware that an incident took place at the Academy Awards, but that no one involved had filed a report.
“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program,” a spokesperson said.
“The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.”
Smith’s son, rapper and actor Jaden Smith, also commented on the incident in a since-deleted tweet.
Find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners here.
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