Chris Rock and Will Smith had an altercation on stage during this year's Oscar telecast. The former appeared on stage to present the Oscar for documentary feature and joked about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Following the comment, Will Smith landed a punch on Rock. One might think that Smith threw the jab in a lighthearted manner, however as he returned to his seat, he yelled at Rock:
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”
This comes after the 57-year-old standup comedian joked about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head by calling her “G.I. Jane.” This is in reference to the first G.I Jane movie, which was released in 1997. The movie starring lead Demi Moore gained massive traction after she appeared in it with a bald hair-do.
Following Rock’s diss on award-night, Jada Pinkett Smith unsurprisingly did not look amused. Will Smith was furious and flew out of his seat and walked on stage to land a punch on Chris Rock.
The next 30 seconds were silent, as many did not expect the 53-year-old Fresh Prince actor to do so, however, the broadcast did not cut away. Viewers could hear Smith landing a full-forced punch on Rock’s face, assuring that the punch was not fake.
Following the blow, Rock was heard saying:
“Wow! Wow, Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me.”
Why did Will Smith punch Chris Rock?
The 50-year-old actress announced last year that she shaved her head following her battle with alopecia. The actress has been brutally honest about her struggles with hair loss and coming to terms with her new appearance.
Following the blow, Diddy was the next presenter on the Oscars stage. He was about to announce the 50th anniversary celebration of the legendary film The Godfather. Prior to resuming the show, Diddy addressed the attack by saying:
“Will and Chris, we’re going to solve this like family. Right now, we’re moving on with love. Everybody make some nose.”
Smith’s punch clip has gone viral on social media. Netizens were shocked by Smith’s actions. A few tweets read:
Coming as a surprise to many, this is not the first time Chris Rock has commented about Jada Pinkett Smith during Oscars night. In 2005, Rock joked about Pinkett-Smith boycotting the ceremony due to the lack of diversity in the nominations. During his time on stage, he said:
“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”
Jada Pinkett Smith did not respond to what took place at the Oscars at the time of writing this article.