A new viral video clip taken during the slap at Sunday night's Oscars appears to shed more light on what went down in the moments the television cameras didn't catch--and people are not sure what to make of what they're seeing.
The video was taken from the audience in the Dolby Theatre from just a few feet behind where Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith were sitting.
The footage, which first appeared on TikTok and was reposted to Instagram by actor Michael Rapoport, appears to show Pinkett Smith laughing as Smith descended from the stage after slapping Chris Rock.
See the video below.
The video begins just moments after the slapped itself occurred, as Will Smith was walking back to his seat on the front row, as a bit of nervous laughter can be heard in the audience.
A stunned Chris Rock then bemusedly gave his instantly quotable reaction:
"Will Smith just slapped the sh*t out of me."
The audience then bursts into laughter and Pinkett Smith seems to join them, lurching forward in her seat in a way that suggests a hearty laugh.
The energy in the room immediately shifts, however, as Will Smith begins yelling at Rock to "keep my wife's name out your fu*king mouth." Pinkett Smith appears to be just as blind-sided as the audience, looking back and forth between her husband and Rock.
Pinkett Smith then appears to laugh again moments later, as a stunned Rock attempts to release the tension by quipping about the moment making for "the greatest night in the history of television."
The video provides a totally different view from what aired on television, where the cameras were either trained on Rock or in a close-up of Smith that did not include Pinkett Smith throughout the altercation.
The video has injected even more controversy into the ongoing discourse about the incident, as many have defended Smith's slap on the basis that he was sticking up for Pinkett Smith, who initially seemed hurt and offended by Rock's joke about her hair.
But the video suggests Pinkett Smith may not have taken the joke as seriously as previously thought.
People on Instagram were shocked by this new glimpse into the incident.
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People may get yet another glimpse into the incident.
Smith and Pinkett Smith are rumored to be planning to address their side of the slap story on Pinkett Smith's Facebook Watch talk show Red Table Talk, which could air as soon as next week.
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