The most shocking moment of the 2022 Oscars had nothing to do with an award.
Before handing out the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature (which went to Summer of Soul), presenter Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith looking like “G.I. Jane 2,” a reference to her shaved head, like Demi Moore in the 1997 film. Will Smith walked onto the stage and smacked Rock in the face. It looked like a bit, but it wasn’t.
Los Angeles Times entertainment reporter Amy Kaufman tweeted, “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.’”
You can watch that moment below.
Will Smith just punched Chris Rock and told him “keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth” pic.twitter.com/1f1ytdbMRv
— CJ Fogler (@cjzer0) March 28, 2022
It was not censored in other markets:
VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rock pic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 28, 2022
Pinkett Smith has been outspoken about her alopecia:
The actress Jada Pinkett Smith revealed her alopecia diagnosis in 2018, and since then, she’s been embracing the challenges of the condition and publicly displaying evidence of hair loss with confidence and candor.
“Look at this line right here,” Pinkett Smith, 50, said as she pointed to her scalp. “Now this is going to be a little bit more difficult for me to hide, so I thought I’d just share it so y’all not asking any questions — but you know, mama’s going to put some rhinestones in there, and I’m going to make me a little crown.”
Will Smith is up for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard.