Best Actor winner Will Smith stunned the audience on Sunday night, as he smacked Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars. The comedian had made a joke about the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith
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Oscars: Will Smith hits Chris Rock after he joked about Jada
The celebrity audience at the 94th Academy Awards were stunned on Sunday night as Will Smith stormed the stage and smacked presenter Chris Rock.
Will – who went on to win Best Actor later in the evening – reacted after the comedian made a joke at the expense of his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.
As viewers debated whether the incident was staged or not, reports of previous beef between the two stars quickly resurfaced – making it quite clear the shocking moment was a genuine reaction from Will.
Speaking on stage at the Dobey Theatre on Sunday night, Chris joked about Jada’s buzzcut, quipping: “Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2.”
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Will – who had been sat in the audience – appeared to walk up to the stage and slap the presenter, before returning to his seat and yelling: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth.”
It wasn’t the first time Chris has made the Smith family the butt of his jokes at the Oscars.
When hosting the prestigious awards in 2016, the comedian discussed the celebrity couple during his opening monologue.
Jada wasn’t in attendance as Chris quipped about her absence, after reportedly snubbing the awards following husband Will’s failure to receive a nomination for the movie Concussion
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“Jada got mad, said she’s not coming. Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna ’s panties. I wasn’t invited,” Chris joked in 2016.
“You get mad. It’s not fair that Will was this good and didn’t get nominated. It’s also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West.”
Two years later, the two stars appeared to clash online – as Will wished his ex-wife Sheree Zampino a happy birthday.
“Happy Bday, @shereezampino. #BestBabyMamaEver! 🙂 I Love You, Ree-Ree,” Will wrote on Instagram, alongside a throwback photo of him, Sheree and their son Trey Smith as a baby.
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“Wow,” Chris commented. “You have a very understanding wife.”
Will – who divorced Sheree in 1995 – reportedly hit back, replying: “Don’t hate.”
At the Oscars on Sunday night, Will seemingly had enough of the comedian’s jokes at the expense of his current wife.
Prior to Chris referencing to her hairstyle, Jada has previously revealed her reasons for shaving her head, after struggling with alopecia.
Speaking on Instagram last year, the actress explained: “Now at this point, I can only laugh… y’all know I’ve been struggling with alopecia. Just all of a sudden, one day…it just showed up like that.
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“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…Mama’s gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends … period!”
Later on in the evening, Will went on to win his first Oscar for his performance in King Richard and apologised on stage for actions earlier in the night.
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“Love will make you do crazy things,” the emotional winner confessed, referencing his outburst.
He also revealed what Denzel Washington said to him after the smack: “At your highest, that’s when the devil comes for you.”
Will went on to apologise to the Academy, and to his fellow nominees.
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