The 94th Academy Awards were on track to be one of the most boring Oscars of all time, a ceremony devoid of the kind of meme-able moments that we’ve come to expect from our big nights.
Then Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.
Rock was on stage to present an award when Smith took offence to jokes aimed at his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. He responded by marching onto the stage and belting Rock. The whole incident only lasted 1 minute and 18 seconds, but apparently that’s all it takes to go from harmless on-stage banter to a public slapping.
The Slap That Rocked The Oscars.
In the interest of historical record, and to help us all understand exactly how we got here, here is your blow-by-blow recreation of The Slap That Rocked The Oscars™. Unless, of course, your name is Chris Rock, in which case it actually just ruined your night.
The Slap: A timeline
00:00 We see Chris Rock take to the stage to present the award for best documentary, he is smiling and looks jovial, possibly for the final time this evening. Rock is a comedian so naturally, he engages in a few jokes before getting around to his award.
A rare photo of the last time Chris Rock was pictured smiling.
00:04 “You know who has the hardest job tonight?” asks Rock. “Javier Bardem and his wife are both nominated. Now if she loses, he can’t win!”
Javier Bardem and Cruz both laugh heartily ensuring their future cancellation as Chris Rock-sympathisers.
Chris Rock’s pre-slap banter impressed Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz. Credit: Twitter
Rock uses this as a springboard to segue into Smith territory.
00:15 “He [Bardem] is praying that Will Smith wins,” jokes the comedian, still smiling, unaware of what is to come. The camera cuts to Will who laughs along, not yet feeling slap-happy.
Moments before taking to the stage, Will Smith seemed to enjoy Rock’s banter. Credit: Twitter
00:23 ”Jada, I love you,” says Rock. “G.I. Jane 2, I can’t wait to see it.”
Now here is where it gets interesting. Rock’s joke is presumed to be a dig about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head (the 1997 film, G.I. Jane starred Demi Moore as a Navy SEAL with a shaved head).
Jada Pinkett Smith, left, and Will Smith hold hands in the audience.Credit: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Aside from being dated (seriously, the film was released in 1997), Rock’s gag was seen to be in poor taste given Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia.
00:28 This bit is important. The camera pans back to Smith and Pinkett Smith. Smith is still laughing but Jada Pinkett rolls her eyes and shoots Rock a withering look that says: “I despise you and am about to manifest your very public comeuppance.”
The look before The Slap. Jada Pinkett Smith was less than impressed with Chris Rock’s jokes about her hair.Credit: Twitter
00:37 Having clocked Jada Pinkett’s reaction, Rock knows he may have slipped up here.
“That was a nice one!” says a visibly nervous Rock. Followed by “uh-oh” as he notices Smith making his way on stage.
00:40
We get our first look at Smith striding towards Rock. The Academy Awards loves a surprise, so the crowd is still nervously laughing and clapping, unsure of what is about to go down. Smith takes four steps before coming face to face with Rock.
00:42 Then it happens, seemingly in slow motion, The Slap That Rocked The Oscars™.
“Will Smith just slapped the s--t out of me.” Chris Rock’s response to being struck by Best Actor winner, Will Smith.
Smith barely even winds up, instead opting to keep the slap short, sharp and open-handed. On the scale of famous slaps, it’s probably midway between Don Corleone clipping Johnny Fontane in The Godfather, and Cher’s Academy Award-winning slap from Moonstruck.
00:44 Rock is rocked, his head momentarily snapping back, taking with it his hopes and dreams of ever starring in a film with Will Smith. “Oh, wow, wow” is all he manages as Smith storms off stage.
Chris Rock, left, reacts after being hit on stage by Will Smith while presenting the award for best documentary feature.Credit: AP
After composing himself, Rock utters the line that will undoubtedly haunt him forever: “Will Smith just slapped the s--t out of me.”
00:54 This is around the time when everyone in the room realises this isn’t some kind of pre-planned stunt, Ellen is not about to appear and smooth everything over with pizza.
Lupita Nyong’o reacts after Will Smith appeared to strike Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.Credit: Twitter
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f---ing mouth,” shouts Smith as the camera cuts back to him.
00:58 Lupita Nyong’o delivers the perfect facial response to a public slapping event between two men with a collective age of 110 years old.
01:00 Rock attempts damage control: “Dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke,” but Smith isn’t having it, forcefully repeating his instruction not to mention Jada’s name.
01:10 A clearly embarrassed Rock, flush with embarrassment (and the actual pain of being slapped by Will Smith), desperately searches for a way to recover.
“That was, uh … the greatest night in the history of television,” says Rock, before finally getting around to handing out the Academy Award for Best Documentary (which went to Summer of Soul, by the way)
What happened next?
Following The Slap, Smith was spotted being comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry. He was also seen embracing Nicole Kidman and Bradley Cooper.
Aside from recruiting famous friends for #TeamWill, Smith got the final word. Shortly after the slap, he won Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard and could address the controversy, unopposed.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” said a teary Smith. “In this time in my life, in this moment I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do.”
Happy tears or slappy tears? Will Smith breaks down as he delivers his acceptance speech.Credit: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
Which presumably means slapping people in public?
“I want to apologise to the Academy, I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment,” said Smith.
Now what?
According to the Los Angeles Times, the LAPD has confirmed that Chris Rock does not want to press charges against Will Smith.
The Academy has also released the following statement: “The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world.”
But really the legacy of this slap will live on in the endless debates now raging online: Can comedians make jokes about anything? Was Smith simply defending his family’s honour? Is G.I. Jane a good movie?
According to Mia Farrow, yes it is.
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