On March 3, 2022, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Rock as one of the presenters of the 94th Academy Awards. On February 8, 2022, it was announced that Will Smith had been nominated for an Academy Award for his acting in the film King Richard. She was diagnosed with alopecia areata and in July 2021, she started completely shaving her head. In 2018, on her talk show Red Table Talk, Pinkett Smith revealed she had been experiencing hair loss, potentially because of stress. Left to right: Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, and Chris Rock Rock joked in his opening monologue: 'Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna's panties. Rock had previously hosted the awards twice, including in 2016, which several actors (including Pinkett Smith) boycotted due to the lack of African-American nominees.

In 1997, he had commented on her participation in the Million Woman March in an interview on his late night-talk show, The Chris Rock Show, where Pinkett Smith appeared visibly upset by his jokes on black feminism. The incident received worldwide attention and largely overshadowed the rest of the ceremony.Īfter the ceremony, some publications recalled Rock's past remarks about Jada Pinkett Smith. However, uncensored international footage went viral on social media an excerpt from the Australian broadcast became one of the most-viewed online videos in the first 24 hours. Live television broadcasts in the United States mostly muted the incident due to federal censorship laws. Smith resigned his Academy membership on April 1, facing a potential suspension or expulsion, and was banned from attending Academy events for 10 years, effective April 8. The next day, he issued an apology to Rock and the Academy through social media. Later that evening, Smith won Best Actor and apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and other nominees, but not to Rock, in his acceptance speech. Smith returned to his seat and shouted profanity at Rock, who briefly responded, but completed his presentation without further interruption. The slap was in response to Rock's joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, which she had been shaving since 2021 due to alopecia areata.

Smith resigned and was issued a 10-year event ban from the Academyĭuring the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, actor Will Smith walked onstage and slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face during Rock's presentation for Best Documentary Feature.

Zoom teleprompter