Will Smith Smacks Chris Rock in Shocking Unscripted Oscars Moment

In a moment that will go down in Oscars history, Will Smith leapt onstage and slapped Chris Rock for joking about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. Despite initial confusion in the Dolby Theatre, the shocking moment was later revealed to be completely unscripted, though viewers in the United States missed much of it due to ABC's overzealous censors.

Before presenting the award for Best Documentary, Rock made a crack about Pinkett Smith's shaved head, joking that she should be in the next G.I. Jane film. The joke, which seemed to ignore the fact that Pinkett Smith shaved her head after struggling with alopecia, prompted an immediate reaction from Smith, who jumped out of his seat and confronted Rock onstage. After slapping Rock, Smith returned to his seat and yelled, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!"

Save for Diddy, the ceremony's next presenter, the Oscars broadcast largely ignored the viral moment, but Smith addressed it in his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for King Richard. "I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment, and I'm not crying for winning an award," said an emotional Smith. "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family ... Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things."

Here's Will Smith's tearful acceptance speech at the #Oscars. https://t.co/ulvT7fsB57 pic.twitter.com/Uq2krBbBld

— Variety (@Variety) March 28, 2022

Claire Spellberg Lustig is the Senior Editor at Primetimer and a scholar of The View. Follow her on Twitter at @c_spellberg.