"Get my wife's name out of your f****** mouth" screamed Will Smith to Chris Rock in one of the most awkward moments in Oscars history. Video / TVNZ
Opinion by Karl Puschmann
Karl Puschmann is Culture and entertainment writer for the New Zealand Herald. His fascination lies in finding out what drives and inspires creative people.
With just one word comedian Chris Rock summed up the 94th Academy Awards better than anyone, "wow".
That's what he said right after actor Will Smith had gotten up from his seat, stomped up onto the stage where he was presenting the award for Best Documentary and slapped him acrossthe face for telling a joke about his wife, the actress Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The Oscars ceremony is supposed to be the biggest movie event of the year, a glitzy and glamourous celebration of the world's best films and filmmakers. Instead, Smith's assault on Rock is the only thing people are talking about. The 2022 Academy Awards show will forever be remembered for that slap. A shameful moment that both parties are probably already regretting.
"Wow," Rock repeated, as he shook the stars out of his head while Smith stormed back to his seat. "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me."
On the surface, Rock's gag seemed harmless enough, a reference to the long-forgotten 1997 military drama G.I Jane in which Demi Moore famously shaved her head. But that was for a role in a film. Pinkett-Smith's shaved head is because she suffers from alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss. She revealed her diagnosis in 2018 and has spoken openly about her struggle with the disease. In that light, you can understand why Smith was fuming.
Will Smith, left, and Jada Pinkett Smith arrive at the Oscars.
"Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth," Smith shouted to the visibly confused Rock after leaving the stage. Rock wasn't the only one confused. It felt surreal. The whole theatre full of Hollywood power-players and A-Listers was stunned into silence. In the quiet, Smith shouted his threat again.
Onstage Rock stood with a confused grin frozen in place. He looked off to the side of the stage for a cue of what to do next. With none coming he quipped, "well... this is the, uh, greatest night in television".
Up until then, it hadn't been. It had been fairly boring, actually, mainly consisting of skits that varied from average to awkward, a few limp acceptance speeches and some uninspiring musical numbers. There wasn't much of the glitz and glamour of olde.
On the plus side, however, there had been a greater effort put into the diversity and representation of its hosts and presenters after a few years of #OscarsSoWhite social campaigns.
Jane Campion holds her Oscar for best director for The Power of the Dog during the show at the 94th Academy Awards.
Other highlights include Jane Campion winning Best Director for The Power of the Dog and not making another faux-pas during her acceptance speech. Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell's stellar performance of their haunting Bond title track No Time to Die, the song they'd later win an Oscar for. And, you'd have to be blackhearted not to have been moved by CODA star Troy Kotsur's heartfelt emotion after he won Best Actor in a Supporting Role, becoming the first deaf male actor to win an Oscar.
But all of that good stuff is overshadowed by Smith's slap. 2022 is still finding new and increasingly ugly and bananas ways to surprise us.
Right now we don't know if Rock knew about Pinkett-Smith's condition or just saw an opportunity for an easy laugh at someone else's expense. But he wasn't at a Roast, where digs at people's appearance are expected, he was at the Oscars.
As for Smith, he shouldn't have done it. Assault is assault and that was assault on the world's biggest stage. He was largely tipped to win Best Actor, which he would shortly after, and could have used his words then to speak out against Rock's joke, to explain the hurt and anger it caused before moving on to graciously accepting his award. It would have been a class move and a powerful response. It certainly would have given far more credence to his teary claim that he, "wants to be a vessel for love".
Presenter Chris Rock, left, reacts after being hit on stage by Will Smith while presenting the award for best documentary feature at the Oscars.
Shame on Rock for the joke. Shame on Smith for his reaction. But also, shame on the Academy. As viewers, we were allowed to be stunned by what we were seeing. As the body responsible for the show they were not. They needed to leap into action. That Smith wasn't escorted out immediately is disgraceful. That one of the three hosts didn't come out straight away and address the violence as "not okay," is inexcusable. That they didn't do anything is unacceptable.
Instead, they wanted to simply pretend that we hadn't just seen one of the world's biggest movie stars lose his rag and violently strike out at one of the world's biggest comedians. It's utterly ridiculous.
Smith sat back down and clapped and cheered as if nothing had happened while Rock continued announcing the nominees and reading out the winner's name as his lip swelled. After a few more awards, some awkward skits and a very uncomfortable vibe, host Amy Schumer finally came out and addressed the elephant in the room.
