Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

The 2022 Academy Awards ceremony turned out to be very memorable, but not for reasons we would have thought. Hollywood’s biggest night took an unexpected turn when Will Smith stormed the stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face after telling a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

While presenting the award for Best Documentary, Chris Rock joked, “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2 can’t wait to see it.” Comparing the Red Table Talk host’s buzzcut to that of Demi Moore’s shaved head in the 1997 Navy SEAL film, Pinkett Smith reacted by rolling her eyes while seated in the audience.

Pinkett Smith has been vocal about experiencing alopecia, an autoimmune deficiency that results in rapid hair loss. The jab incited the altercation with the King Richard star (who later was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor). After taking to the stage to smack Rock, Smith swiftly walked back to his seat, continuing to yell at the Fargo actor, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth.”

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022. (Myung Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

While apologizing to the Academy and his fellow nominees in his acceptance speech, Smith left out any remorse directed to Rock specifically. Since then, Rock has declined to press charges against the former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star. While rumors continue to swirl about the possibility of Smith’s Oscar being revoked by the Academy, the actor has yet to speak with the press. Smith is set to reportedly break his silence on the altercation on his wife’s Facebook talk show, Red Table Talk as early as this week.

Unsurprisingly, the moment is all anyone is talking about today — including fellow celebs. While some are praising Smith’s actions for coming to his wife’s defense, others are condemning his violent behavior, and noting the attention taken away from Questlove, who won the Academy Award for Best Documentary for his film Summer of Soul immediately after the smack.

During the show, Amy Schumer (who co-hosted alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall) reentered the stage saying, “I’ve been getting out of that Spider-Man costume. Did I miss anything? There’s, like, a different vibe in here.”

Of course, memes have been circulating on social media all day Monday, including Lupita Nyong’o’s reaction to the encounter while seated behind Smith and a shocked photo of Nicole Kidman (above). However, the photographer clarified on Monday that Kidman’s photo was actually snapped at a different time during the ceremony.

Later Monday night, Smith took to Instagram to acknowledge his behavior and publicly apologize to Rock. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.”

And on Tuesday, Pinkett Smith shared a post on Instagram that read, “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it.”

Read on for celebrity responses following Sunday night’s smack.

The Academy

Jaden Smith

Kathy Griffin

Nicki Minaj

Conan O’Brien

Sophia Bush

Trevor Noah

Jimmy Kimmel

Cardi B

https://twitter.com/iamcardib/status/1508294399096066054?cxt=HHwWjMCorfjwxO4pAAAA

Billy Eichner

Cher

topics: Will Smith, academy awards, 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock, Viral Celebrity Reactions