Following the altercation that took place between Chris Rock and Will Smith at this evening’s 94th Academy Awards, the internet has been reeling, trying to piece together exactly what happened between the two multi-hyphenates.
If you somehow haven’t heard about the drama, it all began when the Madagascar voice actor was on stage performing his duties as a presenter. Upon spotting Jada Pinkett Smith in the audience, he cracked a joke about her shaved head, referring to her as G.I. Jane. In the past, the actress has been open about her struggles with alopecia, which ultimately caused her to lose most of her hair, making the joke come across as insensitive to some.
Cameras caught the mother of two rolling her eyes, and while her husband initially laughed, as Rock continued to talk, the 53-year-old quickly made his way up onto the platform, where he promptly struck the South Carolina native across the face.
When he returned to his seat, Smith yelled (at the top of his lungs, according to some reports) “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth,” and was later comforted by Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry as he allegedly wiped away tears during a commercial break.
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While some users have been speculating that the slap was staged, others have rushed to Will’s defence, commending him for standing up for his wife. Others still – including Stephen A Smith – feel as though The Fresh Prince himself may have made a grave mistake in hitting his colleague.
Check out Twitter’s response to the beef below, and let us know whose side you’re taking in the comment section.