Will Smith beats Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars (2023)

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in the face onstage at the Oscars after the comedian made a joke about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

"Jada, I can't wait for GI Jane 2," Rock said in an apparent reference to his shaved hairstyle, the result of alopecia caused by hair loss.

Smith took the stage and slapped Rock before returning to his seat and yelling, "Keep my wife's name out of your [expletive] mouth."

He later apologized to the Academy.

In an emotional acceptance speech for the best actor award, he also said he wanted to apologize to all the other nominees. There was no specific excuse for Rock.

The star won the first Oscar of his career for playing the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard.

"Art imitates life," he said. "I look like a crazy dad, like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which organizes the Oscars,tweetedthat "no form of violence is tolerated".

Rock's joke referenced the 1997 film GI Jane, in which Demi Moore played the title role with a severe haircut.

Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes at the comment while Smith initially appeared to be laughing and applauding before she was spotted on stage walking towards Rock.

The comedian was stunned shortly after the incident, but told the audience: "It was the biggest night in television history."

He has not yet commented further on the incidents.

After the incident, Rock presented the award for best documentary, so he took the stage.

The trio can be seen right in front of the stage during a commercial break with Washington and Perry putting their hands on their shoulders. A Star Is Born actor Bradley Cooper was also spotted alongside Smith and appeared to reassure him.

Introducing the next segment, Sean "Diddy" Combs said, "Will and Chris, we're going to work this out as a family. Now we continue in love.”

'Fresh Prince of Bel Air' actor Smith later wrote on Instagram: "You can't invite people from Philly or Baltimore anywhere!" – referring to his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Baltimore, Maryland, where his 24-year-old wife is from.

Smith attended Vanity Fair's Oscars party with his sons Trey and Jaden, daughter Willow and his wife, smiling for photographers and posing with her award on the red carpet.

Other partygoers reacted to the incident, with filmmaker David Furnish saying he tells his kids with Elton John, "Don't hit anyone... under any circumstances."

But actress and comedian Tiffany Haddish defended Smith, saying he was defending his wife.

Jaden Smith tweeted after his dad slammed Rock, "And this is how we do it."

Other members of the film industry criticized Smith, with Marshall Herskovitz, the producer of The Last Samurai, calling on the Academy to take disciplinary action against him and Star Wars actor Mark Hamill, calling it "the greatest Oscars moment ever".

He added, "Stand-up comedians are very adept at handling scolding. Violent physical attacks… not so much.”

Comedian and actress Kathy Griffin said she now fears for the comedians' safety.

"Let me tell you, going on stage and physically assaulting a comedian is a very bad habit," he said. "Now we all have to start thinking about who Will Smith wants to be in comedy clubs and theaters."

By Steven McIntosh, Academy Awards entertainment reporter

Here, at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, there was a surprised reaction from journalists.

Reporters attended the traditional backstage press conference, but attention suddenly turned to the overhead screens and what was happening at the ceremony.

At first it seemed like some sort of set-up. Smith even seemed to laugh at first after Rock discussed how his wife looked like GI Jane.

Jada seemed annoyed, but at this point it should still be part of some kind of pre-planned routine.

Doubts crept in as Smith got up from his chair and threw Rock onto the stage. Of course, these guys are TV and film veterans and know how to fake a slap on stage. Except everyone was starting to think it didn't look so fake.

As Smith sat in his seat and yelled at Rock to "shut my wife's name out [expletive]," it was clear this wasn't a sketch. A pro like Smith would know better than to drop the F-Bomb on stage during a live TV broadcast.

Like previous Oscars defined by their viral moments, like Ellen's group selfie or the 2017 Best Picture winner's mess, this will forever be the Oscar where Will Smith took a swipe at Chris Rock.

She said: "I had problems with hair loss. And it was scary when it started.”

The Girls Trip star said she first suspected alopecia after "a handful of hairs" came loose in the shower.

"I was like, 'My God, am I going bald?' It was one of those moments in my life where I was literally shaking with fear," he explained. "That's why I cut my hair and keep cutting it."

It wasn't the first time Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith at the Oscars. He hosted the event in 2016 when she was among the stars boycotting the ceremony over a lack of diversity in the nominations.

That year, he said, "Jada Pinkett Smith boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties — I wasn't invited!"

Other winners at Sunday's ceremony included Jessica Chastain, who won Best Actress for The Eyes of Tammy Faye; Jane Campion, who won Best Director for The Power of the Dog; and the Apple TV film Coda, which won Best Picture.

Best Supporting Actress went to Ariana DeBose for West Side Story, while Troy Kotsur took home Best Supporting Actor for Coda, which also went home for Best Adapted Screenplay.

The sci-fi epic Dune won a total of six awards, including the Technical categories for Best Visual Effects and Best Camera.

Smith took the stage twice during the Oscars: once to question what Rock had said about his wife and less than an hour later to accept his first Oscar.

Accepting the Academy Award for Best Actor for King Richard, he said Richard Williams was a "fierce defender of his family" and that his life was "called" "to love and protect people".

He concluded by saying he hoped the academy would invite him back.