Will Smith's Oscar slap has the Fortnite community worried for all the wrong reasons

Until the inevitable Fortnite movie, one might not expect the Oscars to influence the game's community. However, with the growing list of movie characters in the game, that has become increasingly possible. Last night, at the 94th Academy Awards, something happened that has the community a bit riled up.

While presenting for an award, actor and comedian Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett-Smith's lack of hair. Pinkett-Smith has a long detailed struggle with alopecia, a disease that causes hair loss. Will Smith, her husband, didn't take too kindly to Rock's jab.

Will and Jada (Image via Oscars)

Smith went up on stage and slapped Rock and muttered an expletive laced statement that the live audio was cut out for. It's very unlikely that this incident has any bearing on Fortnite skins, but the community doesn't seem to think so.

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Fans think Will Smith's Fortnite skin might be impacted by the Oscars controversy

At least one Fortnite player saw the incident and immediately questioned whether or not the Mike Lowrey skin, which is clearly in the likeness of Will Smith, would be removed.

It was an Item Shop skin, and it also might never return to the shop again after the incident, depending on how Epic Games feels about everything. That's unlikely, though it's not impossible.

Public controversy has affected Fortnite skins in the past. Travis Scott has been removed from the game due to the Astroworld tragedy, so there's precedent for removing a controversial skin. It should be noted that the Smith/Rock incident does not remotely compare to what happened at the Scott concert, though.

Regardless of what happens to the skin in the future, the incident sent social media, and even some gamers, into a frenzy. ShiinaBR, one of the most prominent leakers on the scene, voiced his support for Will Smith.

Chica declared her intention to support Will Smith for the entirety of this season before responding and saying she doesn't condone slapping anyone.

TSM Myth has long been a fan of Smith and that hasn't changed.

What happened between Rock and Smith is unprecedented and may never happen again. It's being reported that the two have since apologized, and Smith even apologized for the incident in his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for King Richard.

Rock is also reportedly not pressing charges, so it seems unlikely that the incident will have any effect on the Fortnite community.