Video of Chris Rock looking stunned and emotional moments after getting slapped by Will Smith goes viral

Video of Chris Rock's expression following slap goes viral on social media (Image via Getty Images)

A video of comedian Chris Rock’s reaction following the infamous Oscars slap has gone viral on social media.

Netizens noticed that the 57-year-old looked heartbroken after actor Will Smith slapped him on-stage during the live Academy Awards ceremony. The comedian can be seen with his eyes wide open, unable to process what happened at the major event.

Rock gained global traction after appearing at the Oscars, however, for the wrong reasons. Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's, Will Smith’s wife, shaved head which elicited a violent reaction from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Will Smith walked on stage and slapped the comedian.

Pinkett Smith has openly discussed her struggles with alopecia in the past, which led to her having to come to terms with her hair loss. Will's reaction to Chris Rock’s joke was triggered by this.

The video, now going viral, showed Rock’s shocked face. Rock could be seen handing the winners their Oscar awards and he clearly looked uncomfortable. He also appeared to make eye contact with someone off-camera and showed a face of surprise while shrugging his shoulders.

The caption the video said, "Look at Chris face” with a sad crying emoji. The clip was posted by TikTok user Sincerelyordinary and was captioned:

“Imagine you are slapped and there is violence in front of 50 million people.”

The 25-second-long clip was posted on Tuesday, March 29, and has since been viewed over 9.6 million times on TikTok alone. It has amassed over 880,000 likes and over 42,000 comments on the video-sharing platform as well.

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The aftermath of Chris Rock’s slap

Minutes after the inglorious moment, Will Smith won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams in King Richard. He took to his Instagram account and apologized to the comedian by mentioning that his actions were “violent and inexcusable.”

The world awaited a response from the comedian, who remained silent throughout the ceremony following the slap. He did not respond to the viral moment, the following day either.

Rock finally commented on the moment while performing at a sold-out show in Boston on Wednesday, March 30. Chris Rock responded to Will Smith’s apology and stated that he was “still processing” the events that transpired on Oscars night.

The Hollywood Reporter also learnt that the Academy was conducting an investigation and “disciplinary hearings” have begun over the viral moment.

After a statement from the Academy was released, it was also made aware that Will Smith refused to leave the ceremony following the slap, despite being asked to do so. The statement read,

“Things unfolded in a way we could not have anticipated. While we would like to clarify that Mr. Smith was asked to leave the ceremony and refused, we also recognize we could have handled the situation differently.”

Another official announcement by the Academy on Twitter read:

Chris Rock’s brother Tony has since commented on the moment as well. In a Twitter Q&A session, the fellow comedian revealed that he did not accept Will Smith’s apology.