Entertainment Movies Whoopi Goldberg Reacts to Will Smith Smacking Chris Rock at Oscars: 'I Get It — He Snapped' Will Smith took the stage at the 2022 Oscars and smacked Chris Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair By Nicholas Rice Nicholas Rice Instagram Twitter Nicholas Rice is an Associate Editor for PEOPLE Magazine. He began working with the brand as an Editorial Intern in early 2020, before later transitioning to a freelance role, and then staff positions soon after. Nicholas writes and edits anywhere between 7 to 9 stories per day on average for PEOPLE, spanning across each vertical the brand covers. Nicholas has previous work experience with Billboard, POPSUGAR, Bustle and Elite Daily. When not working, Nicholas can be found playing with his 5 dogs, listening to pop music or eating mozzarella sticks. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 28, 2022 12:15 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Whoopi Goldberg is reacting to Will Smith's much-talked-about moment from the 2022 Academy Awards. On Monday's episode of The View, Goldberg, 66, expressed her thoughts on the incident, where Smith, 53, slapped presenter Chris Rock after he joked about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. (Jada, 50, has been embracing a shaved head hairstyle as she lives with alopecia, which leads to bald spots and hair loss.) Noting that she thought Will's outburst was a result of "a lot of stuff built up," including a joke that Rock, 57, made at Jada's expense at the 2016 Oscars, Goldberg added, "I think he overreacted." For more on the Will Smith-Chris Rock incident at the Oscars, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day. "I get it. Not everybody acts the way we like them to under pressure," the star — who previously hosted the Oscars four times, and won a Best Supporting Actress award in 1990 — continued. "Some people just snap. He snapped." "I think it's remarkable and wonderful that Chris Rock did not take it to that other place it could have gone," added Goldberg. "... All I know is sometimes you get to a point and you behave badly. I myself have acted badly on occasion." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Charles Sykes/Bravo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images; ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images Will Smith Said He Chose 'Chaos' in Video Posted Ahead of Chris Rock Slapping Incident During the ABC daytime talk show series, fellow hosts Joy Behar, Ana Navarro and Sonny Hostin also shared their thoughts on the ordeal, all expressing impassioned sentiments about Will's outburst. Goldberg previously starred with Will in 1993's Made in America, and has appeared on Rock's past eponymous talk show series, The Chris Rock Show. Chris Rock and Will Smith at the Oscars on March 27, 2022. Robyn Beck/getty At the 2022 Oscars, Rock joked to Jada in the audience, "Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see ya," as he was introducing the Oscar for Best Documentary. The Red Table Talk host looked unimpressed and Will initially laughed from his seat, but later took to the stage to smack Rock across the face. Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Richard Harbaugh/A.M.P.A.S. / SplashNews.com Following the now-viral moment, a seemingly taken-aback Rock said, "Oh wow. Will Smith just smacked the s--- out of me," as the father of three made his way back to his seat after the incident. "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!" Smith then yelled up to the stage at Rock after taking his seat again. "Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke," said Rock — to which Will replied once again, "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!" "I'm going to, okay?" Rock responded, before going on to say, "That was the ... greatest night in the history of television" and presenting the award. Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday. After the ordeal, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement on Twitter. "The Academy does not condone violence of any form," the organization tweeted. "Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world," it continued, shifting the focus to the newly minted Oscar winners. A source told PEOPLE that the tensions between the Best Actor winner and Oscars presenter goes back several years, noting the same instance that The View hosts brought up when Rock took aim at Jada during his own hosting gig at the 2016 Academy Awards. "When Chris hosted the Oscars in 2016, Jada was boycotting because of 'Oscars So White.' In his monologue, he made fun of her, saying she can't boycott something she wasn't invited to," the insider explained. "Will was still mad about that." Will Smith (R) and Chris Rock. ABC An onlooker at the awards show told PEOPLE that Rock "looked stunned" after being smacked by Will, adding: "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?' " According to Variety, the Los Angeles Police Department said in a statement that Rock had not filed a police report against Will in wake of the altercation. The LAPD did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program," authorities said Sunday, per the outlet. "The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report." RELATED VIDEO: Will Smith Smacks Chris Rock in the Face at 2022 Oscars After Rock Jokes About Jada Pinkett's Hair Will later acknowledged the moment in his acceptance speech after winning Best Actor for his performance as Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard Williams in King Richard, although he omitted Rock from his apology. "In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world," he said through tears. "I'm being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people." "I know to do what we do you gotta be able to take abuse; you gotta be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you gotta be able to have people disrespecting you, and you gotta smile and pretend like that's okay." Will also compared himself to his King Richard character as a "fierce defender of his family." Will Smith 'Was Still Mad' About Chris Rock's 2016 Oscars Joke Involving Jada Before Smack: Source Will Smith. ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty The actor then addressed the incident directly, offering an apology to the Academy and his fellow nominees for the incident — but failed to mention Rock. "I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees," he said. Will, who was previously nominated for Ali and The Pursuit of Happyness, then said, "Art imitates life: I look like the crazy father. Just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things." He later added, "Being able to love and care for my mother and my family, my wife ... Thank you for this honor. Thank you for this moment. ... I hope the Academy invites me back."