The reviews are in after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars – 17 zingers
The first post-lockdown Oscars should be remembered because of the groundbreaking wins by a deaf actor, a film with a largely deaf cast, and the first Academy Award for a film from a streaming service.
Troy Kotsur becomes the first Deaf man to win an acting Oscar. He’s taking home best supporting actor for his role in CODA. #Oscars https://t.co/GlS68uEebD
— NPR (@NPR) March 28, 2022
Apple Is First Streamer to Win Best Picture Oscar for #CODA https://t.co/55q4I3QFOo
— Variety (@Variety) March 28, 2022
Instead, people are talking about the moment Will Smith reacted to Chris Rock’s bad taste joke about Jada Pinkett Smith by marching onstage and slapping him.
The Full Uncensored video of Will Smith’s altercation with Chris Rock at the #Oscars pic.twitter.com/cGQ3plSEiz
— Movies (@moreoffilms) March 28, 2022
Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith being in "G.I. Jane" because of her bald head. She's spoken openly about having a hair loss condition. Will Smith ran on stage, slapped Rock, then screamed twice at the top of his lungs "KEEP MY WIFE'S NAME OUT OF YOUR F-NG MOUTH."
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) March 28, 2022
Will Smith quite rightly apologised when he went up to collect his Best Actor Oscar for King Richard, although pointedly not to Chris Rock.
Will Smith: "I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees."
Notably, no apology to Chris Rock. pic.twitter.com/dRhsk9eICp
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 28, 2022
The Academy made its position clear.
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
The incident somewhat split the internet, with the majority condemning his outburst.
Will Smith owes Chris Rock a huge apology. There is no excuse for what he did. He’s lucky Chris is not filing assault charges. The excuses he made tonight were bullshit.
— Rob Reiner (@robreiner) March 28, 2022
You should always stand up for your woman, especially as a gentleman.
Guys if you think what Will Smith did there was chivalry, sorry to disappoint, it shows a lot of insecurity and shame about something else. The way he went about it was just so unnecessary. I love Will but man
— 🎅🏿Tall Dark Renaissance Man (@ProjectStev) March 28, 2022
Will Smith said “Not Today”. A man big enough to absolutely floor him, slapped him softly enough that Chris barely moved, because he made fun of his wife’s alopecia on a world stage. Don’t say #protectBlackwomen for two years and then only condemn Will here. Come on… pic.twitter.com/6aTfKlNynN
— Jameela Jamil 🌈 (@jameelajamil) March 28, 2022
Naturally, a lot of the reactions were jokes, so we gathered some of the best.
1.
Fair play. The new Bel-Air *is* grittier
— Nooruddean (@BeardedGenius) March 28, 2022
2.
Everyone at the Oscar’s when Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock on national television #Oscars pic.twitter.com/VX7EzFyJ22
— LORRAKON (@LORRAKON) March 28, 2022
3.
A difficult few hours for right-wing contrarian column writers, while they wait to see which way the Will Smith thing goes, so they can write the opposite.
— Alex Andreou (@sturdyAlex) March 28, 2022
4.
Me waking up and seeing why Will Smith is trending. pic.twitter.com/KtrwCCJslZ
— Sooz Kempner (@SoozUK) March 28, 2022
5.
I hope everyone has enjoyed the last Oscars ever
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 28, 2022
6.
Love the fact that the LA police said they were aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards programme. That’s some great detective work there.
— Ivor Baddiel (@Ivorbaddiel) March 28, 2022
7.
I guess this makes Will Smith hot favourite for the Palme d'or.
— Jason (@NickMotown) March 28, 2022
8.
Andrew Garfield texting the other Peter Parkers to see if Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in their universes too . #Oscars pic.twitter.com/INHA70BHuA
— Zero Chills (@Nyaikae2) March 28, 2022
9.
Someone needs to tell Will Smith what Putin has been saying about his missus.
— QuebecTango (@QuebecTango) March 28, 2022
