Whether you watched last night's Oscars or not, you've likely heard about the shocking moment when actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage while Rock was presenting the Best Documentary award.
Given Smith's nomination for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard, a film about Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard Williams, the entire Williams clan was in attendance.
From her seat in the audience at the Dolby Theatre, Serena Williams posted a series of videos to her Instagram Story sharing her speechless reaction to what was, for better or worse, the most memorable moment of the night by far.
See her stunned reaction below.
Serena Williams weighs in on her Insta story:\n\n#Oscarspic.twitter.com/XYXcZ4v7uY— Lukas Weese (@Lukas Weese) 1648436527
At first, Williams showed herself agape in stunned silence at what had just occurred on the stage. In a subsequent clip, Williams said:
“I just sat down, because I was like, I gotta put that drink down, because um..."
Williams then glanced around in a look of shocked confusion.
It was a reaction shared by many, both in the seats at the Dolby Theatre and in the audience of tens of millions of people worldwide who watched the show live on television.
The incident occurred when Chris Rock made a joke about the look that Smith's wife, actress Jada Pinkett-Smith, wore to the ceremony, which included a closely cropped, shaved hairstyle. Rock quipped that Pinkett-Smith was set to star in "G.I. Jane 2," a reference to the 1997 film G.I. Jane in which actress Demi Moore infamously shaved her head.
Because Pinkett-Smith suffers from a medical condition that causes hair loss, she and husband Smith took offense. Smith went onstage from his front-row seat, slapped Chris Rock, and then yelled at him several times to "keep [his] wife's name out your fu*king mouth." (Warning: This video contains offensive language.)
VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rockpic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa— Timothy Burke (@Timothy Burke) 1648434735
Williams was certainly not alone in being left stunned by the shocking turn of events. Twitter erupted with astonished double takes in response, and the incident has proven to be very divisive.
Literally me watching Chris Rock and Will Smith because wtf just happened #Oscarspic.twitter.com/SN3ozLG4E4— Mary Wilson (@Mary Wilson) 1648434636
I understand that you shouldn't put your hands on someone but Chris Rock was wrong for making a joke about his wife Jada's hair situation. She has been very public and emotional about her hair loss. He was very insensitive and cruel with his G.I. Jane remark.— sherlock (@sherlock) 1648442352
Will Smith didn't just steal from his own moment tonight. He stole from Venus Williams, Serena Williams, Richard Williams and everyone else involved with 'King Richard.' Shame.— Don Lewis (@Don Lewis) 1648449281
Venus and Serena Williams watching Will Smith talk in his acceptance speech for his award at the 2022 Oscars tonight.pic.twitter.com/LzzGHBTY8j— \ud83e\udd81\ud83d\udc51 King \ud83e\udd81\ud83d\udc51 (@\ud83e\udd81\ud83d\udc51 King \ud83e\udd81\ud83d\udc51) 1648437330
#WillSmith Sir, You just ruined this night for not only for yourself, Serena, Venus, their father, their mother and sisters. Everyone was rooting for you. And half that room was sitting when your name was read. #chrisrock #Oscars #Oscars2022 #BlackTwitter— Sharde (@Sharde) 1648437403
All of us watching what just went down between Will, Chris and Jada: #Oscarspic.twitter.com/g34XV10SV7— Saeed Jones (@Saeed Jones) 1648434764
Will Smith did what he knew Jada could never do because if she did it, she would have it much worse than him. Yall would have dragged this woman to hell & back had she even spoken up for herself. We talked about this w Serena & Venus the other day. He did what SHOULD be done...https://twitter.com/stitchmediamix/status/1508306770371956737\u00a0\u2026— R.M. Virtues | LET ME IN available now! (@R.M. Virtues | LET ME IN available now!) 1648443531
Seriously. I am still floored by what happened tonight will @chrisrock and #WillSmith at #Oscars. I\u2019ve been on the phone with sisters and brothers and the feelings are all over the place. I can\u2019t even watch anything else as I process what happened tonight. WOW.— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) 1648445169
Many takes on here about Will Smith and Chris Rock, especially from people whose partners are not Black women (mainly white people).\n\nI don\u2019t care if it\u2019s a joke or not, the amount Black women have to endure \u2014 people are tired of it. We have no idea what Jada has gone through.— Frederick "Pre-order Patriarchy Blues" Joseph (@Frederick "Pre-order Patriarchy Blues" Joseph) 1648436680
Those defending Will Smith (as you should) please keep that same energy for the countless Black women, transgender people, and others who are often harassed and humiliated in the name of "jokes." #Oscars— Ernest Owens (@Ernest Owens) 1648440699
Tonight was supposed to be a triumph for Gen-X Hip-hop. Will Smith won an Oscar over Denzel at the height of D's power. Questlove and Jazzbo won Oscars. D-Nice is DJing and Will Packer hip-hop filmmaker produced it. Beyonce, Puff, Jay and Latifah there. All upstaged by The Slap.— Cheo Hodari Coker (@Cheo Hodari Coker) 1648441019
What should have been a night of celebration; with so many diverse nominees and presenters now has one, violent headline. Hopefully these two brothers will work it out, and everyone can move on.— Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Pro-Democracy) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1648441540
Minutes after the incident, Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as Williams' father. In his speech, he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, and said he was "overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.”
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