PHIL MISTRY, APR 02, 2022
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| Will Smith (R) hits Chris Rock as Rock spoke on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, U.S., March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Brian Snyder |
Actor Will Smith made international headlines when he walked onto the stage at the Oscars and slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face. Reuters photographer Brian Snyder recorded the unexpected moment in 10 frames without even realizing that he had done so, and those photos have since gone viral.
“Did that just happen?” Snyder initially thought after the slap, he tells PetaPixel. “I, and the photographers around me, wondered if it was a planned part of the show at first. But when Will Smith sat back down and started yelling back at the stage, including obscenities, I figured it was not planned and was something else entirely.”
The Slap Heard Around the World
Rock presented the award for Best Documentary during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honoring the best films released between March 1 and December 31, 2021, at the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles on March 27, 2022.
During a monologue, Rock joked about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her bald head.
“Jada, I love you,” Rock rock said. “G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
The joke refers to the 1997 war drama film G.I. Jane, in which actress Demi Moore plays a Lieutenant with a short buzz cut. Pinkett Smith has in recent years been very open about her alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss. She even posted a video on her Instagram last year showing the progress of the illness.
Rock’s joke infuriated Smith, who walked upon the stage from his front-row seat and slapped Rock, the impact of which was picked up by the microphone.
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Denzel Washington explains why he thinks Will Smith hit Chris Rock at the Oscars ‘I don’t know all the ins and outs of this situation,’ actor said.
Denzel Washington has shared his views on the Will Smith Oscars slap after consoling him in the immediate aftermath.
Washington was one of the first people to talk with the actor following the incident that saw the actor stride on stage to hit Chris Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
While Smith claimed that he was defending Pinkett Smith from a joke about her alopecia diagnosis, a source close to Rock says he “had no idea” about it. Smith, who faces disciplinary action from the Academy, announced his resignation from the awards body on Friday (1 April).
On Saturday (2 April), Washington spoke about the matter publicly for the first time at a Leadership Summit in Washington DC. During Smith’s tearful Best Actor speech, which he delivered after winning for King Richard within the hour after her hit Rock, the actor said that Washington told him: “In your highest moments, be careful; that’s when the devil comes for you.”
According to Deadline, Washington, acknowledging his comments to Smith, said of the incident: “There’s a saying when the devil ignores you, then you know you’re doing something wrong. The devil goes, ‘Oh, no, leave him alone, he’s my favourite.’
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