As prestigious as the Academy Awards are, they are a bit of a boring affair. They go on for far too long, with the vast majority of viewers only really caring about a handful of gongs given out on the night.
The only way the whole thing becomes more interesting when there is a controversial incident, with last night providing a prime example.
By now, you've all seen the clip of Will Smith appearing to slap Chris Rock on stage. The comedian made an ill-fated joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's short hair, something that is a result of suffering from alopecia. You can watch the incident below.
The entire Will Smith moment went to air uncensored in Australia: pic.twitter.com/qG8WL7DEub
— casey briggs (@CaseyBriggs) March 28, 2022
Rock: Oh wow, Will just smacked the s*** out of me...
Smith: Keep my wife's name out of your f*****g mouth!
Rock: I'm going to, okay?
That was the greatest night in the history of television.
The show did go on, with Smith actually winning the 2022 award for Best Actor a few minutes later.
As you would imagine, the whole things has caused a major storm online.
Here are some of the most memorable reactions.
Best Will Smith memes after Oscars Incident
A common theme seemed to be Will Smith's wildly changing reaction, going from laughing seemingly at the joke to throwing out a slap within a few seconds.
Will Smith when Chris Rock told the joke vs Will Smith when he saw Jada’s reaction. pic.twitter.com/6jmTl71W5j
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) March 28, 2022
Will Smith laughing at Chris Rock's joke then realizing Jada ain't happy pic.twitter.com/oL8lkP2PIY
— Mash (@mash_manuel) March 28, 2022
What really happened with Chris Rock and Will Smith in The Slap at the Oscars 😂 pic.twitter.com/r3v1WrB2aL
— Mareeezy (@mgaitan214) March 28, 2022
Will Smith pic.twitter.com/CgbQC1zaEl
— Auron (@auronplay) March 28, 2022
It's fair to say that the other celebrities in the audience weren't really sure how to react.
the audience clapping while will smith was walking up to chris rock and then instantly switching up pic.twitter.com/vKDp0LWU5H
— faizan (@fznfznfznfzn) March 28, 2022
Andrew is 100% scrolling thru Twitter to see what everyone is saying about the Will Smith thing. pic.twitter.com/6ivx7JsZdE
— gua 🪐 (@stonemayi) March 28, 2022
LUPITA IN THE BEHIND WILL SMITH IS KILLING ME #AcademyAwards pic.twitter.com/BtITt6SC4R
— matt murdocks gf ♡ (@omgmattmurdock) March 28, 2022
“tom, you’ll never guess what just happened. so chris rock-” #Oscars pic.twitter.com/nCx7NEhNzB
— haleigh (@latte_shits) March 28, 2022
Everyone at the Oscar’s when Will Smith assaulted Chris Rock on national television #Oscars pic.twitter.com/VX7EzFyJ22
— LORRAKON (@LORRAKON) March 28, 2022
Oddly enough, Jamie Carragher's reaction was probably up there with the best of them.
As they say, the show must go on.
Chris Rock kept going on stage, with Will Smith going on to win his Oscar a few minutes later. Hollywood, eh?
will smith smacked a mf and won an oscar 10 minutes later that was some legendary shit
— nate zed (@NathanZed) March 28, 2022
Chris Rock watching Will Smith get back on stage to accept his Oscar pic.twitter.com/IL8nnaxWF3
— Stephen A. Smith Burner (@SASBurnerAcct) March 28, 2022
As controversial as this moment was, it has a long way to go go before it catches up with this iconic X Factor incident.
It is likely to be quite a while before we see something like this happen on that particular stage again.
For now, strap yourself in for a week of Will Smith memes.
Quiz: Name Every Best Picture Winner At The Oscars Since 2000
