Tonight (March 28), Will Smith smacked Chris Rock onstage during the Oscars after Rock cracked a joke at Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett. Rock referenced the movie G.I. Jane while appearing to poke fun at Jada's recent struggles with alopecia.
Directly following the joke, the broadcast showed Jada's reaction, which was less than approving. Smith then proceeded to approach the stage, walk directly up to Rock and smack him across the face.
Rock, stunned, said, "Oh, wow. Wow. Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me."
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Smith, returning to his seat, yelled back, "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!"
"Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke," Rock replied.
"Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!" Smith repeated.
"I'm going to, OK?" Rock responded. "That was the... greatest night in the history of television."
News quickly spread and people were just as—if not more—shocked than Rock. Hip-hop as a whole has been reacting to the moment since the moment it happened.
"You have to win Oscars to do this kinda shit," 50 Cent wrote. "After i win i’m gonna slap the shit out of a few people."
"Here comes the men in black," Ty Dolla Sign commented.
"Move on with LOVE," Diddy wrote, referencing a quote from Smith's acceptance speech for winning Best Actor moments after slapping Rock.
Cardi B referenced another moment in Smith's acceptance speech where he revealed what Denzel Washington told him moments after the slap. "At your highest moment …be careful that’s when the devil tries to come for you."
You can see more reactions from other rappers below.
