As the 94th Academy Awards neared its end, one of the biggest surprises rocked the night: An intense exchange after Will Smith confronted Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. Just minutes later, Smith won his first Oscar, taking home Best Actor for his role in “King Richard.”
Rock joked that he was looking forward to a sequel to “G.I. Jane” starring Pinkett Smith, leading Smith to make his way to the stage and smack Rock.
After taking a seat, Smith shouted to Rock to “keep my wife’s name out of your f******* mouth.” The exchange came as a surprise to many in the audience, as actress Lupita Nyong’o, who is seated near Smith, and could be seen on camera, was completely shocked.
Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly about her hair loss due to the autoimmune disease alopecia. In 2018, Pinkett Smith opened up during an episode of her show Red Table Talk, saying “It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like ‘Oh my God, am I going bald?'”
Smith later apologized to the Academy and his fellow Best Actor nominees while accepting the award for Best Actor, without directly mentioning the earlier confrontation. He said Richard Williams, who he portrays in “King Richard,” was a “fierce defender of his family.”
“I want to apologize to the Academy,” Smith said. “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 and Trevor and Zack and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue and the entire cast and crew of ‘King Richard’ Venus and Serena, the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams.”
While the show was on a commercial break, The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg tweeted footage of Smith being pulled aside and comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry. Smith eventually made his way to his seat, and appeared to wipe tears from his eyes.
