The Oscars lost their freaking minds tonight. By now, you darn well know that Will Smith hauled off and smacked Chris Rock, onstage, after he made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. The show flew into absolute chaos at that point, and there’s a damn good reason why that’s the case. That audible sound (and Will’s tearful Best Actor acceptance speech) virtually guarantees that this was no planned bit.
Here’s an uncensored replay of the full exchange.
VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rock pic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 28, 2022
Thank goodness Timothée Chalamet stole the red carpet early on, or no one would have noticed if the show and pre-show had happened in reverse. And over on Twitter, of course, everyone was freaking out over “what just happened?”
And then there was the verified “Will Smith” Twitter account, which is not owned by Will Smith the actor. Instead, this is a podcaster and comms pro who happens to also be a Will Smith. The dude caught wind of what went down and reacted accordingly: “Whelp.”
Whelp.
— Will Smith (@willsmith) March 28, 2022
RIP his mentions, for sure. He then tweeted, “I’m sorry if you’re offended.”
I’m sorry if you’re offended.
— Will Smith (@willsmith) March 28, 2022
From there, all of his reactions to this moment — which are being liked and favorited into oblivion — are instantly going viral. It’s nuts, really, but he lamented how this Oscars moment overshadowed the “In Memoriam” segment. He’s not wrong.
Hopefully all anyone remembers at the end of the show is this inappropriately upbeat “In Memoriam” segment.
— Will Smith (@willsmith) March 28, 2022
— Will Smith (@willsmith) March 28, 2022