By Cynthia Akande
American actors Chris Rock and Will Smith were involved in an altercation during the 2022 Academy Awards telecast.
During the live show, Chris Rock while presenting for the best documentary feature category, made a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.
The joke brought about laughter, followed by an awkward silence. After the joke was made, Smith approached the stage and slapped Rock on the face.
Smith after hitting Rock on his face yelled from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out of your [expletive] mouth.”
The comedian’s joke was a reference to the 1997 movie G.I Jane – which starred Demi Moore sporting a buzzcut similar to Jada’s.
Smith later apologised on stage.
“I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to my all my fellow nominees,” he said during a tearful acceptance speech for best actor.
The star picked up the first Oscar of his career for playing the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in the movie King Richard.
