There is no drama like the current drama, especially when it happens on a huge stage. At the 2022 Academy Awards, Will Smith walked up to Chris Rock, angered by a joke Rock made about Jada Pinkett-Smith, and slapped him on stage. While initially, everyone thought it was scripted and part of the show, albeit in bad taste, apparently, it was all too real.
Whether the slap connected or not, this was an assault on a global arena, pictured by millions and all eyes were on LAPD aka. the Los Angeles Police Department, to see if they would follow up with an investigation. But it seems Chris Rock has taken the wind out of their sales…
But before, we have to show you this meme.
We can now replace the Batman meme with Will Smiths pic.twitter.com/UZJsOjoxP3
— Charlie Brown (@MiSt3rBr0wN) March 28, 2022
A Very Sore Point With Will Smith
Chris Rock, known for roasting his colleagues in Tinseltown on stage, took a dig at Jada Pinkett-Smith’s self-admitted alopecia, calling her G.I. Jane, referring to Demi Moore‘s character in the eponymous movie who wore a shaved head.
Rock said, “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it!”
Rock was on stage to present the Oscar for documentary feature and hardly had the joke ended that Smith climbed on the stage and appeared to slap Rock. The audience and Rock seemed equally stunned, although at first, everyone thought this was a staged joke.
In an uncensored version posted on Twitter, Rock then said, “Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me” to which Smith, now back in his seat, mouthed, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
When the comedian added, “Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke”, Smith repeated himself, asking Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his f***ing mouth.”
Rock simply tried to defuse the situation by saying, “Okay, I’m going to…”
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Amazingly, Rock kept on going, normally, post that, and social media is reacting to his largesse with the utmost respect.
He simply carried on, a bit flustered, saying, “This is the greatest night in the history of television…”
Did Will Smith really just open hand smack Chris Rock on live tv and tell him to keep Jada’s name out of his fucking mouth?!?!
And then Chris Rock just kept it going?!
HOLY SHIT
— Philip DeFranco 👊🏻 (@PhillyD) March 28, 2022
Will Smith Got The Oscar, Apologized, But Not To Rock
The next presenter was Sean “P Diddy” Combs, who also tried to defuse the situation, saying, “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve this like family. Right now we’re moving on with love. Everybody make some noise.”
Sean Combs addresses that wild Will Smith and Chris Rock moment at the #Oscars: “Will and Chris, we’re gonna solve that like family at the Gold Party.” pic.twitter.com/5r6WHHBdeE
— Variety (@Variety) March 28, 2022
To really top off the drama, Smith was then awarded the Oscar for the Best Actor for “King Richard” and he accepted the same with an emotional speech.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said, hinting at the drama just went down, “In this time in my life, at this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.”
He continued saying, “Now I know to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse. You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you have to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you gotta smile and pretend that’s OK,” he continued, becoming increasingly emotional, tears welling up in his eyes. “Denzel [Washington] said to me a few minutes ago, he said, ‘At your highest moment, that’s when the devil comes for you.’”
Smith then delivered his apologies but did not mention Chris Rock, “I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me.”
As Smith carried on, tears rolled down, “It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people … Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said … just like they said about Richard Williams. Love will make you do crazy things.”
Chris Rock Refused To File A Police Complaint
Technically, this was assault and Chris Rock could have filed charges.
@LAPD Assault charges. pic.twitter.com/HpwsOCoTY8
— whatever86🌴👣😎🏒🌊 (@likatmur88) March 28, 2022
Still showing his largesse, Rock refused to file a police complaint to notch the scuffle up.
A statement has been released by the LAPD, saying, “LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. 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.”
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