Update 03/28: The Oscars' Academy has issued a statement regarding the confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock, saying "The Academy does not condone violence of any form."
The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
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.
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 28, 2022
In addition, Deadline reports that Rock has decided not to file a police report against Smith, and so will not press charges.
Update: Will Smith won his first Academy Award, for his performance in King Richard. During his tear-filled speech, Smith apologized to the Academy, hoping to be invited back, though not specifically naming his actions. “Love will make you do crazy things," he said.
Smith said that Denzel Washington pulled him aside, after the physical altercation with Chris Rock, and said "At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you." Smith then also talk about how invested he was in protecting his family and loved ones, like Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams he played in the film. He also included "To do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you got to smile, you got to pretend like that's okay."
Will Smith: "To do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you got to smile, you got to pretend like that's okay." #Oscars
— Brent Lang (@BrentALang) March 28, 2022
Original story: Comedian Chris Rock, before announcing the nominations for Best Documentary Feature, made a few jokes for the room. But things went awry after he joked about Jada Pinkett Smith being in "G.I. Jane 2" (due to her shaved head).
Husband Will Smith, who's nominated for his performance in King Richard, got up and approached Rock, while Rock tried to smooth things over by saying it was a "nicer joke" and not a mean one. But Smith promptly slapped Rock across the face.
Those at home weren't sure if it was a planned bit or not until the camera cut in on Smith's face after he sat back down and the audio went silent because of the swear words being used. Smith, dead serious, twice shouted back "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth."
Will Smith just punched Chris Rock and told him "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" pic.twitter.com/1f1ytdbMRv
— CJ Fogler (@cjzer0) March 28, 2022
When the sound came back up, Rock was seriously flustered and had a ton of trouble getting through the rest of his presentation duties. After Questlove finished his winner's acceptance speech the documentary Attica it seemed like he asked Rock "How's the jaw?" during their walk backstage.
A few more things. Firstly, here is some context for Pinkett Smith's hairstyle…
Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith being in "G.I. Jane" because of her bald head. She's spoken openly about having a hair loss condition. Will Smith ran on stage, slapped Rock, then screamed twice at the top of his lungs "KEEP MY WIFE'S NAME OUT OF YOUR F-NG MOUTH."
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) March 28, 2022
Secondly, here is the UNCENSORED version of what all went down, from Japanese television overseas…
VIA JAPANESE TELEVISION: The uncensored exchange between Will Smith and Chris Rock pic.twitter.com/j0Z184ZyXa
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 28, 2022
Sean 'Diddy' Combs was out next, to introduce a tribute to The Godfather, and offered to help smooth things over between Smith and Rock after the show.
More from the ceremony, it appears that fellow Best Actor nominee Denzel Washington possibly took on the role of peacemaker…
During this break, Denzel pulled Will aside to talk to him and they walk away from their seats together. Denzel now has his arm around Jada and is kneeling next to her even though the show has started. #Oscars
— Rebecca Ford (@Beccamford) March 28, 2022
Source: IGN.com Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock Live at the Oscars for Making a Jada Pinkett Smith Joke