People Were In Absolute Shock After Will Smith Walked On Stage And Slapped Chris Rock Live On-Air During The Oscars Broadcast

So that happened. Any montage of Oscar moments includes plenty of unplanned, often chaotic moments. At the 94th ceremony, which had already seen its share of madness, they got one for the ages. While presenting the award for Best Documentary (which went to Summer of Soul, by the way), Chris Rock made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head. (G.I. Jane, if you recall, is a Ridley Scott movie from 1997 starring Demi Moore as a female soldier.) Then something strange happened that left everyone deeply, profoundly confused.

After the joke, which drew gasps and boos, including from Pinkett Smith herself, her husband, Will Smith, nominated for King Richard, stood up, stalked up to the stage, and slapped the hell out of Rock. The sound cut out for what felt like an eternity. Smith was seen yelling angrily. Eventually the sound came back on, with Rock trying to save the moment with another, less offensive joke.

It took some time for everyone to figure out what happened, which was this: Smith repeatedly screamed, “KEEP MY WIFE’S NAME OUT OF YOUR F*CKING MOUTH.’” But even after that, everyone couldn’t believe what happened. Indeed, the words “What just happened” went viral.

— Ida Bae Wells (@nhannahjones) March 28, 2022

what just happened with chris rock and will smith #Oscars2022 pic.twitter.com/knL03tAevN

— Ashley Brewer (@heyashtweeted) March 28, 2022

When you're not watching the #Oscars and 50 people in your Twitter feed all say "Wait, what just happened" all at once…!

— Laura G (@LaurasMiscMovie) March 28, 2022

OOOOOHHHH SHIIIIITTTT WHAT JUST HAPPENED #Oscars pic.twitter.com/WvCc7W6JGt

— Cyndi H. (@Cyn_Harris1) March 28, 2022

Uhhh asking this as a very official twitter account: what just happened

— The A.V. Club (@TheAVClub) March 28, 2022

Wait that wasn’t staged I’m so confused what just happened with Chris Rock and Will Smith #Oscars

— Maranda Whittington (@mwhittingtontv) March 28, 2022

Bitch what just happened! Will walked out on that stage after that GI Jane 2 joke and then Chris ducked. Was that punch real! Then the volume went out… y’all need to run that BACKKK! Jada is NOT to be played with! #Oscars pic.twitter.com/xUtKptyVEQ

— Jennifer D. Laws (@jenniferdlaws) March 28, 2022

Glad to know I’m not the only one confused about what just happened between Chris Rock and Will Smith on

the #Oscars