What happened before, while, and after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock?
It was the slap heard 'round the Dolby Theatre.
![Will Smith, right, hits presenter Chris Rock on stage while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars on Sunday.](https://www.inquirer.com/resizer/3R6pWdzzYEXDpmZaWenexiVRnWE=/760x507/smart/filters:format(webp)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/D752SUXUONHKFIF4EXVJIFCC54.jpg)
In a moment that is dominating the conversation about Sunday’s Academy Awards, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
In the hours since, the confrontation has taken over most of the discourse.
But what happened after the slap heard ‘round the Dolby Theatre?
To quickly recap: Rock, who was on stage to announce the winner of the best documentary — which went to Philly native Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson — made a joke that he was looking forward to seeing Pinkett Smith in G.I. Jane 2 due to her haircut. In 2018, Pinkett Smith revealed she was dealing with hair loss after being diagnosed with alopecia. Smith can be seen walking up on stage and slapping Rock across the face.
Then, Smith — visibly upset — yelled at Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth, complete with an expletive for emphasis.
» READ MORE: Will Smith smacks Chris Rock over Oscars joke about Jada Pinkett Smith
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, the governing body of the Academy Awards, has condemned Smith’s actions and launched a formal review.
And Smith issued a statement Monday evening apologizing to both Rock and the film academy. “I was out of line and I was wrong,” he said.
After a few days of silence, Rock finally addressed the incident in a stand-up show at the Wilbur Theater in Boston Wednesday night, Variety reported.
“How was your weekend?” Rock said at the start of his set. “I don’t have a bunch of sh-t about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend. I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that sh-t. And it will be serious and funny.”
The Slap was an ugly moment that overshadowed Questlove’s win and the awards show as a whole. But what led up to it?
While Smith noted the incident in his best-actor acceptance speech, as of Monday morning, Rock had not released a statement or made comments on the confrontation, although he did decline to press charges against Smith.
» READ MORE: Ayanna Pressley announced she had alopecia, and bald women everywhere exhaled | Elizabeth Wellington
The before times
But many are pointing to past jokes Rock has made at Pinkett Smith’s expense.
In 2016, when Rock last hosted the Oscars, one of his first jokes was about Pinkett Smith, who had released a video at the time saying she was boycotting the awards show due to its lack of diversity. In his opening monologue, Rock poked fun at Pinkett Smith for her declaration.
“Jada said she’s not coming. I was like, ‘Isn’t she on a TV show?’ Jada’s gonna boycott the Oscars? Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited!” the comedian joked.
At the time, Pinkett Smith waved off the jokes when asked about them.
Just before this year’s Academy Awards began, Smith posted a video on his Instagram with Pinkett Smith, both in their Oscars outfits. As if predicting what would happen, Smith captioned the video: “Me ‘n @jadapinkettsmith got all dressed up to choose chaos.”
The shock
In the wake of the slap, confusion reigned. Some assumed it had been a poorly thought out bit. Others, as they realized it was real, tried to make sense of what happened. Actors like Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry comforted Smith and Pinkett Smith during commercials.
The incident was complicated further by Smith’s win for best actor. Smith accepted the award amid tears, with his speech alluding to what he’d just done.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said to start his speech.
Smith went on to apologize to the academy and his fellow nominees, but did not apologize to Rock.
“I know, to do what we do, you gotta be able to take abuse,” Smith also said in his speech. “You gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you and you gotta smile and pretend like that’s OK.”
The aftermath
While Rock hasn’t publicly commented on the slap, the Los Angeles Times reported that he was later heard backstage saying: “I just got punched in the face by Muhammad Ali and didn’t get a scratch.” Smith played Ali in a 2001 biopic about the boxing legend.
After the show finished, most actors interviewed on the red carpet refused to talk about the incident. When asked backstage, Questlove — still holding his Oscar ― declined to comment. “I’m not talking about that,” Questlove said.
Leslie Odom Jr., who grew up in East Oak Lane, spoke of the incident as likely a result of working in Hollywood feeling like “walking around with your skin ripped off.”
“I think we saw two artists with their hearts open,” he said. “It’s a vulnerable moment. Sometimes it’s messy. But it’s always beautiful when it’s the truth.”
Speaking to People, Tiffany Haddish called the smack “the most beautiful thing” she’d ever seen.
“When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me,” she said. “As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you.”
Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, tweeted shortly after Smith smacked Rock, simply saying: “And That’s How We Do It”
In a since-deleted tweet, Judd Apatow excoriated Smith for smacking Rock, claiming that Smith could have killed the comedian.
“He could have killed him. That’s pure out of control rage and violence. They’ve heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind,” Apatow said.
For his part, Will Smith was seen celebrating at the storied Vanity Fair Oscars after-party, dancing to “Yes Yes Y’all” and “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” from 1997′s Big Willie Style. Smith’s children Trey, Jaden and Willow, as well as Pinkett Smith attended with Smith.
» READ MORE: Philly celebs, from DJ Jazzy Jeff to Stephen A. Smith, react to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars
The condemnation
The academy on Monday said it condemns Smith’s actions and would launch a formal review of the slapping incident.
On Wednesday, the organization said Smith was asked to leave the Oscars after hitting Rock but refused. The academy’s board of governors met to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group’s standards of conduct, and said Smith has the opportunity to defend himself in a written response before the board meets again April 18. Disciplinary action for Smith could include suspension, expulsion or other sanctions.
» READ MORE: Academy: Smith refused to leave Oscars, broke conduct code
Smith apologized in a written statement Monday evening, saying he regrets his actions and, “I am a work in progress.”
“Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he said.
He also apologized to Rock.
“I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be,” he said. “There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.
Carolyn Smith speaks
Smith’s mother Carolyn Smith told 6ABC she had never seen her son react like that his entire life.
“He is a very even, people person. That’s the first time I’ve ever seen him go off. The first time in his lifetime. I’ve never seen him do that,” she said.
» READ MORE: Will Smith’s mother speaks on the slap: ‘I’ve never seen him do that.’
Despite being surprised at his outburst, Carolyn Smith said she was proud of Smith for being himself and had advised him to “get some rest and go on vacation.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.