A behind-the-scenes video shows what happened during the commercial break after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards.
Shared by Scott Feinberg on Twitter, the video depicts the aftermath of Smith and Rock’s on-stage altercation during the ceremony, which shows Smith being comforted by both Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry. Both Washington and Perry appear to tell the actor to “brush it off” and as Smith walks back to his seat, he appears to wipe tears from his eyes.
During the commercial break, Will Smith is pulled aside and comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry, who motion for him to brush it off. Will appears to wipe tears from his eyes as he sits back down with Jada, with Denzel comforting Jada and Will’s rep by his side. pic.twitter.com/uDGVnWrSS2
— Scott Feinberg (@ScottFeinberg) March 28, 2022
Prior to the video, Rock, who appeared at the Oscars as a presenter, made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, wherein he said, “Jada, I love you– G.I Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.” Pinkett Smith has spoken publically about her struggles with alopecia and Smith, in response to the joke, shocked the audience — and Rock — by walking on stage and slapping the comedian across the face. While the audio of the broadcast was immediately censored following the blow, uncensored footage surfaced later online, in which Smith can be heard yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth.” Rock has confirmed that he will not be pressing charges against Smith.
About an hour after the slap, Smith was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in King Richard. “I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse, you’ve got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you, and you’ve got to smile and pretend like that’s okay,” Smith said during his acceptance speech. “Denzel said to me a few moments ago, he said to me, ‘At your highest moment, be careful. That’s when the devil comes for you.’ [But] I want to be a vessel for love.”
He continued, “I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people – Tim [White, producer] and Trevor [White, producer] and Zach [Baylin, writer] and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue and the entire cast and crew of King Richard, and Venus and Serena, the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has since launched a formal review in response to Smith and Rock’s altercation, issuing a statement that “condemns the actions of Mr. Smith” at the ceremony. “We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law,” said an Oscars spokesperson.
Source: Twitter
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