Will Smith (right) slaps Chris Rock onstage during the 94th Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on March 27, 2022. Image: AFP/Robyn Beck via ETX Daily Up
The 2022 Oscars is likely to go down in Hollywood history. While awards shows are often boring, the 94th edition of the Academy Awards certainly left its mark after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face over a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
As well as earning its place as an unforgettable TV moment, the scene also gave rise to an avalanche of memes on Twitter.
Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith did not go down well with Smith. The comedian, who was on stage to give the Oscar for the best documentary, was subjected to a surreal slap in the face by “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” in front of an audience of totally stunned stars. It was an improbable scene for such a prestigious and globally anticipated ceremony and one that inevitably flooded Twitter with all kinds of memes.
On social networks, memes inundated the web, comparing Smith’s slap to the famous meme of Batman slapping Robin. The reactions of Lupita Nyong’o and Nicole Kidman also drew much response from internet users. On Twitter, users used the #whatjusthappened hashtag to react to the moment, bringing together the most popular memes on the platform.
So what happened?
Rock addressed Pinkett Smith, comparing her short hair to that of Demi Moore in the “G.I. Jane” movie.
“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2’ can’t wait to see it,” he quipped to the laughter of the audience. The only thing is that the actress has revealed that she suffers from alopecia.
While Smith also appeared to laugh at this joke at first, Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes and barely cracked a smile. While Rock, who obviously noticed the situation, began to defend his humor. Smith suddenly stepped up on stage in front of a stunned Rock to land a slap on his face, its sound echoing through the microphone.
We can now replace the Batman meme with Will Smiths pic.twitter.com/UZJsOjoxP3
— Charlie Brown (@MiSt3rBr0wN) March 28, 2022
https://twitter.com/wanjikunash/status/1508336991624212483?s=20&t=jeF1_grE1bL4oz7dnEclyg
These Will Smith memes are killing me 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/l2XfUaUDD1
— J-Cloud☁️ (@JcloudAnimeTalk) March 28, 2022
Andrew Garfield texting the other Peter Parkers to see if Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in their universes too . #Oscars pic.twitter.com/INHA70BHuA
— Zero Chills (@nyaika256) March 28, 2022
We don’t talk about Bruno…and we absolutely don’t talk about Jada 🤐#whatjusthappened #Oscars #willsmith pic.twitter.com/TyEbjzLz4j
— Dylan (@dylkatzz) March 28, 2022
I’m just here for the inevitable memes #WillSmith #chrisrock #Oscars #ChrisandWill https://t.co/tXBWHJ6dEl
— True Blue (@True___Blue) March 28, 2022
Nicole Kidman reacting to the Chris Rock and Will Smith incident at the #Oscars . A NEW MEME IS BORN.😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/X19AE19OUv
— ⋆ (@eternalcaution) March 28, 2022
POV: you’re Chris Rock #whatjusthappened pic.twitter.com/YQQnOx9NuH
— butters (@yung_butters) March 28, 2022
Chris and Will the slap….#whatjusthappened pic.twitter.com/wJ1URxxwaX
— ADROCK CA (@RealAdamFrancis) March 28, 2022
#Oscar #Oscars2022 #whatjusthappened Will Smith 5 seconds after laughing at the joke: pic.twitter.com/6idCalzwRV
— Fritz (@FritzTheDutchie) March 28, 2022
While ABC decided to mute the sound following the incident, the room fell silent as Smith yelled to Rock twice: “Keep my wife’s name out your f*cking mouth” and “Wow. Wow, Will Smith just smacked the sh*t out of me.”
Rock reacted: “It was a ‘G.I. Jane 2’ joke,” he added afterwards, by way of justification, still on stage and visibly shocked. DC
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