Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon and James Corden all devoted parts of their monologues to talking about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
“It’s now a part of our life forever, we will never stop talking about this,” said Kimmel of the incident. “It was so shocking. The only thing I can really compare it to is when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ears. Even Kanye was like, ‘You went onstage and did what at the award show?’” Kimmel went on to recall the “weirdest part,” noting that initially, Smith laughed at the joke. “But then he must have looked over and saw that Jada was not amused and is like, ‘Uh oh, I better do something.’”
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For those who missed it, Kimmel aired a clip of the incident in which King Richard star Smith stormed onstage to confront Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, getting ready to shoot a G.I. Jane sequel — a reference to her shaved head (the actress has been open about her hair loss due to alopecia) — and slapped Rock in the face.
At that moment in the telecast (which was censored for American audiences), Smith proceeded to yell: “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!” to a visibly shaken Rock, who took a moment to recover before presenting the best documentary award.
“No one could have predicted the most controversial movie of 2022 would be G.I. Jane, but it was,” Kimmel added. “This was the Hollywood version of your drunk uncle starting a fight, ruining the wedding and then standing up and giving a long toast to the bride and groom.”
Kimmel went on to explain that he and his wife, when watching the live event unfold, initially thought Smith’s slap was fake, but then realized it was real, and commented that Rock handled it as well as one could in that situation. “He didn’t even flinch when Will slapped him. I would have been crying so hard.”
The actor went on to win the coveted leading actor Oscar for his role as Richard Williams, father of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s King Richard. During his speech, Smith tearfully apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees, referencing the incident by saying, “Art imitates life — I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams.”
Of his apology, Kimmel said: “It’s like storming out of the house after breaking up with your girlfriend, then coming back in because you forgot your keys.” He added that Smith’s Oscar speech was lengthy: “Of course it was the longest best actor speech in Oscar history, they weren’t going to play him off, he would have beaten up everybody in the band,” Kimmel joked. He also commented that Smith’s speech was a “weird mix” of what he had planned to say and what he had to say about the incident. “It was historic in that it was the first acceptance speech in which the winner apologized to the Academy before he thanked them,” said Kimmel, adding that while Smith didn’t include Rock in his apology at the Oscars, he did apologize to the comedian on social media after the fact.
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Stephen Colbert kicked off Monday’s Late Show with a cold open inspired by the moment.
In his monologue, in which Colbert devoted the first few minutes to the altercation between Smith and Rock, the host joked that Rock had been “slapped into next week.”
Later Colbert, who referred to himself as an “objective observer,” said, “It’s never OK to punch a comedian.”
And he advised Smith, “If you really want to hurt a comedian, don’t laugh! That hurts way more than a punch. I promise you.”
Of the slap, Colbert quipped, “That is the worst thing Will Smith has ever done … wait, I forgot about Wild Wild West. … I’m kidding, obviously. The worst thing he’s ever done is Gemini Man. Someone should slap both of the guys in that movie.”
Colbert also joked that the Oscars should lean into the event’s pugnacious turn of events, particularly given that ratings for the 2022 Oscars were up from last year: “Get ready for next year’s 95th Academy Awards Oscar Slaptacular Death Match: Five nominees enter, one exits.”
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Jimmy Fallon, meanwhile, took a more veiled approach to the incident, joking that the moment everyone was talking about was Tonight Show band leader turned director Questlove winning best documentary for Summer of Soul, which was announced just moments after the slap.
Fallon went on to joke that “you know it was a strange awards show when it ends with a statement from the LAPD.”
And he appreciated how the shock from the moment seemed to be felt by everyone: “America may be divided, but it was kind of nice for all of us to be able to come together and say ‘holy crap’ at the same time.”
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James Corden, meanwhile, used what happened as the basis for an Encanto-inspired song, “We Don’t Talk About Jada,” which recapped more of what took place at the 94th annual Academy Awards.
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Following the infamous slap, Hollywood figures including Mia Farrow, Rob Reiner and Kathy Griffin condemned Smith’s behavior. Tiffany Haddish, meanwhile, told People that the moment meant something different to her. “When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me. As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, ‘Keep my wife’s name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,’ that’s what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you.”
After the event unfolded, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences called an emergency board meeting to discuss Smith’s behavior. The organization issued a statement saying that it “condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night’s show” and noted that a formal review of the incident will be officially launched to explore if further action is required in accordance with California law.
Late on Monday, Smith issued a statement via social media in which he apologized directly to Rock, admitting he was “out of line and wrong,” and called his own behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.” Rock has yet to publicly speak about the incident.
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