The 94th Academy Awards were off to a pretty standard start. Stars and film lovers alike were bubbling with excitement to see the historic awards show return to its pre-pandemic glory. The red carpet glamour was on point, and the hilarious hosts of the night Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall, and Amy Schumer poked fun at the audience in lighthearted jest.
But the night took a turn when comedian Chris Rock took the stage and made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith. He told Jada that he can’t wait to see her in G.I. Jane II.
This comment was particularly offensive because Jada Pinkett-Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes baldness. Jada clearly was offended by the comment and rolled her eyes at the joke. Will Smith was so upset that he stormed on stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face.
When he returned to his seat he yelled to Chris Rock to “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!”. Many people saw this happen on live tv and were shocked. My tv cut out all sound at that part. My cat loves to run across the sound bar and mute the sound, so I thought that was what had happened and was very shocked to discover later the true reason for the sound loss.
The night only got more awkward when Will Smith won “Best Actor” for his role in King Richard.
Will Smith’s rambling acceptance speech included an apology, but it wasn’t the apology that we were expecting.
“I want to apologize to the academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees.”
The speech was notably lacking an apology to Chris Rock, or for his action of hitting him in the face.
In an effort to keep it positive, a crying Will Smith told us about the advice that he had just received from Denzel Washington.
“At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.”
The blow may have come as a shock to me and many others, but the feud between Chris Rock and Will Smith has been brewing for a long time.
Chris Rock made fun of Jada Pinkett-Smith in 2016 when she boycotted the Academy Awards for snubbing Will Smith’s performance in Concussion. Chris Rock joked that,
“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn't invited.”
The feud is ongoing and the blow tonight is sure to only intensify the conflict.
Written by Zianna Weston