Hollywood stars’ reactions to Will Smith’s unstaged slap of Chris Rock on the 2022 Oscars stage

Will Smith smacking Chris Rock is undoubtedly the most viral moment of the 2022 Oscars. 

On March 27 (local time), the 94th Academy Awards took place at Los Angeles’ Dolby Theatre. While stars and the global audience were looking forward to the Oscars winners being announced, an intense confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock in the venue took the Internet by storm. Specifically, Will Smith walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock after Chris Rock made an insensitive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith’s wife. Will Smith then went back to his seat and swore at Chris Rock by yelling twice in a booming voice, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth.” This was muted when broadcast on national TV. 

Will Smith smacking and screaming at Chris Rock also shocked other Hollywood stars. Journalist Derek Blasberg revealed that everyone at his table at the Vanity Fair Oscar dinner was “manically googling” what Will Smith said to Chris Rock after watching the viral moment together. Actors who were present at the awards ceremony like Andrew Garfield and Zendaya were also spotted taking out their phones after what went down between Smith and Rock. Therefore, fans joke that they were scrolling through social media to see what people are saying about the slap. 

Iconic reactions of actors such as Emma Stone, Meryl Streep, Ryan Gosling,… at past Oscars ceremonies are now used as memes by netizens following the shocking slap incident at this year’s Oscars