All the best reactions to that Will Smith incident at the Oscars

So many weird takes… so little time

2 years ago

Last night’s Oscars (27th March) was meant to be a celebration of landmark achievements. CODA, a film made in American Sign Language (ASL), won Best Picture. Ariana DeBose, a queer Woman of Colour, won Best Supporting Actress. Troy Kotsur, a disabled man, won Best Supporting Actor.

Instead, celebs, viewers and press alike were drawn to the chaotic confrontation between Will Smith and Chris Rock. After Chris made a tasteless joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair loss, Will stepped up and smacked him in the face onstage. This is the first time a physical confrontation has happened in Oscars history – in front of the cameras, anyway.

At the moment, discourse is rife both online and offline. People are pretty much divided between “Will was justified” and “a joke’s a joke.” Celebrities have reacted in droves, and memes have even been flying about.

So, while you form your own opinions on the incident, here are the 20 best reactions to *that* Oscars slap:

1. ‘Oh!’

LUPITA IN THE BEHIND WILL SMITH IS KILLING ME #AcademyAwards pic.twitter.com/BtITt6SC4R

— matt murdocks gf ♡ (@omgmattmurdock) March 28, 2022

2. ‘Have they meme’d my reaction yet?’

Andrew is 100% scrolling thru Twitter to see what everyone is saying about the Will Smith thing. pic.twitter.com/6ivx7JsZdE

— guada 🦇 (@stonemayi) March 28, 2022

3. Great

SNL writers taking the Will Smith incident and making the worst skit you’ve ever seen pic.twitter.com/bKzElSphZn

— KIПG MΛПƬЯΛ ⍙ ⛷ (@TheKingMantra) March 28, 2022

4. Me on a standard night out tbf

I still can’t get over the fact that there isn’t even 30 seconds between these two emotions.

No wonder Will Smith won an #Oscar pic.twitter.com/uSkZI3mLmd

— BEING TIGER 3 (@BeingSalmanOO7) March 28, 2022

5. A questionable take

Will Smith’s marriage open to everything except jokes #Oscars #Oscars2022 pic.twitter.com/uqwmXDquJp

— ✍🏽 (@k_sunji) March 28, 2022

6. Omg uncalled for

Will Smith: “Gotta catch them all” pic.twitter.com/3pW3VKbsJ0

— Matthew Kick (@MatthewKick) March 28, 2022

7. Ah

Uncle Phil in heaven while watching Will Smith slap Chris Rock at the oscars pic.twitter.com/ZKVeC0dRlV

— DeFiDarin 🏆 (@DeFiDarin) March 28, 2022

8. Jason always steals the show

Breaking: Will Smith slaps Jason Derulo down the stairs at the Oscars pic.twitter.com/XhoFCI4TCq

— Joe (@goulcher) March 28, 2022

9. Theodore Rock

Chris Rock’s cousin, The, looks on in shock. pic.twitter.com/QDfa6fkcoH

— 𝕻𝖍𝖎𝖑𝖎𝖕 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙 (@papasombra) March 28, 2022

10. ‘I got in one little fight and my mum got scared, and said’

You’re moving with your Aunty and Uncle in Bel-Air.

— Ciarán Joyce (He/Him) 🇺🇦 (@MrCDPJoyce) March 28, 2022

11. Same, Cher

WENT OUT OF RM
& MISSED REASON FOR
WILL’S PUNCH..JUST SAW IT, BUT STILL NOT SURE
WHY.

— Cher (@cher) March 28, 2022

12. How does everything always circle back round to Tom and Zendaya?

“tom, you’ll never guess what just happened. so chris rock-” #Oscars pic.twitter.com/nCx7NEhNzB

— haleigh (@latte_shits) March 28, 2022

13. Maybe let’s not joke about someone’s health in front of the whole world

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

14. Jada Pinkett-Smith was in Madagascar, too!!

Nah this right here. This the funniest thing out of this Will Smith Chris Rock situation pic.twitter.com/nQ1YENUFTu

— 💫𝓚𝓸𝓪𝓵𝓪💫 (@PapaKoalaYT) March 28, 2022

15. HOLLYWOOD baby

Did Will Smith really just open hand smack Chris Rock on live tv and tell him to keep Jada’s name out of his fucking mouth?!?!

And then Chris Rock just kept it going?!

HOLY SHIT

— Philip DeFranco 👊🏻 (@PhillyD) March 28, 2022

16. Reminder to never cross the Smiths

And That’s How We Do It

— Jaden (@jaden) March 28, 2022

17. The fact I instantly texted my boyfriend the same question

“would you hit chris rock if he insulted me” is the new “would you still love me if i was a worm”

— ellie 🌸🌷🌺 (@ellieredpath) March 28, 2022

18. Best morning of my life

its nice to see the celebs do something exciting for once. if you live a life of opulent luxury the least you can do is deck one another once in a while so we have something to gape at

— orlov (@sicsimptyrannis) March 28, 2022

19. Nicki’s right

Imagine what it must feel like to be losing your hair to the point where you have to shave it bald. You think that’s easy to deal with for anyone? You don’t think she’s cried about that many times? 2022 y’all gon have to see these men about those jokes you made about their wives.

— Nicki Minaj (@NICKIMINAJ) March 28, 2022