Why did Will Smith beat Chris Rock at the Oscars last year?

Last year’s Oscars will be remembered as perhaps the most dramatic in history, thanks of course to The Slap Heard Around the World.

During the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, Will Smith took the stage and slapped host Chris Rock in the face.

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Minutes later, Smith won the Best Actor award for his role in the sports drama. King Richard.

The controversial moment resulted in Smith being banned from Academy events for 10 years and the Oscars instituting new crisis measures for this year’s ceremony.

While no one can forget what happened that night, you may have forgotten the circumstances that led to the slap and the aftermath that followed.

That’s how it happened.

Why did Will Smith hit Chris Rock?

Rock announced the nominees for Best Documentary as he began a brief monologue. Back then, the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, comparing her to Demi Moore in the 1997 film. GI Jane.

“Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it, alright?” Rock said. While many onlookers laughed, Pinkett Smith appeared uninterested.

The Matrix star has spoken out about living with alopecia in the past, which led to her decision to shave her head.

Though he appeared to be laughing at first, Smith then walked onto the stage and punched Rock hard in the face before turning and returning to his seat.

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The crowd was initially stunned as it was unclear if the moment had been pre-arranged.

“Wow…Will Smith just blew me away,” Rock finally exclaimed.

However, it was quickly made clear that the incident wasn’t a bit, as Smith yelled the infamous words, “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth.”

What happened after the slap?

Less than 40 minutes after the slap, Will Smith took the stage again, this time to collect one of the best awards of the night. Smith won Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena, in Reinaldo Marcus Green King Richard.

In his deeply emotional acceptance speech, Smith focused on the similarities between himself and his character.

“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family. At this time in my life, at this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is asking me to do and be in this world,” he said.

Later that night, Smith was filmed “holding court” and dancing to his own music vanity fair oscar party

It later emerged that Rock had refused to press charges against the actor.

Five days after the slap, Smith sent an official resignation letter to the Academy, stripping him of his membership of the Academy’s Academy Awards panel.

The Academy then hastened a meeting with the Board of Governors to decide Smith’s fate and decided to bar the actor from the Oscars and all related Academy events for the next 10 years.

In July last year, Smith released an apology video to Rock, to which the comedian didn’t respond.

Rock finally addressed the incident head-on for the first time this week in his live comedy special for Netflix. Chris Rock: Selective outrage.

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