LOS ANGELES (AP) — When Will Smith marched onto the Oscars stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face, that unpredictable moment served as a harrowing disruption to Hollywood’s feel-good celebration.
But when Smith returned moments later to accept his first-ever Oscar, he tearfully apologized for an act that would surely overshadow his milestone achievement. He took the opportunity during Sunday night’s awards ceremony to open up about how he’s a fierce defender, just like his tennis dad Richard Williams from ‘King Richard’.
Smith felt like the protector of many, including his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, after Rock made a joke about her looks that didn’t really suit him.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said as he began his acceptance speech after receiving the Best Actor award. He then apologized to many people – including tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, daughters of Richard Williams – but didn’t mention Rock in his apology.
Smith then spoke about being a protector to those who worked with him on the film, such as Aunjanue Ellis along with Saniyya Sidney and Demi Singleton, the two actors who played Venus and Serena.
“I am called in my life to love and protect people and to be a flow for my people,” Smith said during his acceptance speech after winning his first-ever Oscar. “I know in order to do what we do you have to be able to take abuse. You have to be able to get people talking crazy about you. In this business you have to be able to be disrespected by people. And you have to smile and pretend that’s okay.”
The exchange began when Rock aimed at Pinkett Smith’s shaved head and said: “Jada, I love you. ‘GI Jane 2’ can’t wait to see it ok?” Rock’s reference is from the 1997 film GI Jane starring Demi Moore, who shaved her head to represent a fictional Navy SEAL present a candidate.
Pinkett Smith announced in 2018 that she was diagnosed with alopecia. She has often discussed the challenges of hair loss on Instagram and other social media platforms.
The joke missed, badly.
Smith walked onto the stage from his seat in the front row and smacked Rock with his open palm, creating a loud smack. Smith went back to his seat and shouted at Rock to leave Pinkett Smith alone. Rock replied that he was just making a “GI Jane” joke – and Smith yelled at him a second time.
Smith yelled at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your (power) mouth,” and the crowd fell silent as it became clear this wasn’t a show.
The moment shocked audiences at the Dolby Theater and viewers at home. During the commercial break, host Daniel Kaluuya came to hug Smith and Denzel Washington escorted him to the side of the stage. The two talked and hugged and Tyler Perry came over to talk as well.
Smith shared what Washington told him: “In your highest moment, be careful, because that’s when the devil comes for you.
“I hope the Academy invites me back,” Will Smith said as he finished his onstage speech.
A Rock representative did not immediately respond to an email asking for comment.
After the show, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences issued a statement saying it “does not condone any form of violence.”
Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement that they were aware of the incident.
“In the incident, one person hit another,” the statement said. “The person concerned has declined to make a report to the police. If the party involved desires a police report at a later date, the LAPD is available to prepare an investigative report.”
“It was the greatest night in television history,” Rock said before resuming his role as presenter.
A few minutes later, rapper Sean Combs – onstage to introduce a tribute to “The Godfather” – attempted to play the peacemaker and suggested Smith and Rock settle their differences at an Oscars afterparty.
“Will and Chris, we’re going to sort this out like a family at the gold party,” Combs said.
The reverberation didn’t stop there. In the commercial breaks that followed, several people reached out to Smith and Pinkett Smith. Keith Urban hugged Smith during a break in the show, and Nicole Kidman also went over to say a few words.
Backstage, during interviews with the winners, the Rock Smith incident seemed to be something that few, if any, wanted to talk about.
“That’s not what I’m talking about,” said Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, the director of “Summer of Soul,” which won an Oscar for best documentary.
The confrontation overshadowed Smith’s milestone performance. He was previously nominated for Best Actor twice, for his roles in Ali in 2002 and The Pursuit of Happyness in 2007. In these films, he portrayed real-life characters: boxing legend Muhammad Ali and Chris Garner, a homeless salesman.
This time Smith won against impressive competition including Andrew Garfield, Javier Bardem, Benedict Cumberbatch and Denzel Washington – who won his first and only Best Actor Oscar over Smith in 2002 for Training Day.
Pinkett Smith was also the subject of jokes from Rock when he hosted the Oscars in 2016. She did not attend the Oscars that year, saying that her decision at the time was due to a lack of diversity among the nominees and that black artists were not adequately represented.
“I think sometimes we have to remind ourselves that at some point everyone breaks,” said TV personality Karamo Brown. “But I think this is two men actually getting together and finding out and saying, ‘OK, enough is enough, I’m sorry.’ … I wasn’t in that situation. I never condone violence or anything like that, but I could also understand protecting those you love.”
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AP film writer Lindsey Bahr contributed to this report.
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For more information on AP’s Oscars coverage, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/academy-awards