Chris Rock 'Looked Stunned' After Will Smith 'Smacked' Him at 2022 Oscars, Says Onlooker

Chris Rock made a joke about Will Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, prompting the Best Actor nominee to say, "Keep my wife's name out of your f-----g mouth"

By Benjamin VanHoose

Published on March 27, 2022 11:11 PM

Chris Rock and Will Smith had a tense moment at the Oscars — one that caught the comedian off guard, leaving him momentarily speechless.

While presenting, Rock, 57, made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's hair, saying he looks forward to seeing her in "G.I. Jane 2," referencing when Demi Moore shaved her head for the 1997 film. Smith walked on stage and appeared to strike Rock, who then said in disbelief, "Will Smith just smacked the s--- out of me."

According to an onlooker in the room at the 94th annual Academy Awards in the Dolby Theatre, "Everyone in the mezzanine was standing up to see what was going on — everyone shocked. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was looking at each other like, 'Is this really happening?' "

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"Chris Rock looked stunned," the onlooker added.

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After going back to his seat, Smith, who is nominated for Best Actor this year, shouted twice to Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your f-----g mouth." Rock then said, "Wow, dude. It was a G.I. Jane joke."

After a laugh and some silence, Rock said, "That was the greatest night in the history of television."

Back in 2016, when Rock hosted the Oscars, Rock joked about the lack of diversity among nominees as some stars publicly called to boycott the awards show, including Pinkett Smith.

Rock said at the time, according to Variety, "Jada got mad, said she's not coming. Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. I wasn't invited," Rock said. "You get mad. It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated. It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West."