Lupita Nyong’o had a front row seat to the Oscars drama as she was positioned right beside Will Smith and her reaction was caught on camera as she saw the star invade the stage to slap Chris Rock.
Drama erupted at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night when 57-year-old comedian Chris made an ill-judged joke about Will’s 50-year-old wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The comedian – who was on stage to introduce the Best Documentary Feature Oscar – took aim at Jada, branding her “G.I Jane 2” due to her bald appearance, cruelly making fun of her when she was forced to shave her head after suffering from alopecia.
Gasps soon followed, however, as 53-year-old Will stormed the stage, approached Chris, and slapped him square across the face – returning to his seat and repeatedly shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”
Former Oscar winner Lupita – who won Best Supporting Actress in 2014 for her role in 12 Years A Slave and who was at the 2022 ceremony to dish out the Best Costume Design gong – looked aghast as she witnessed Will’s outbursts.
Cameras captured the 39-year-old star looking incredibly uncomfortable as she sat inches away from Will as he raged at Chris Rock on stage.
Her response went viral, with many sharing screenshots of her stunned response on social media, with one writing: “Give Lupita best supporting actress for her work tonight.”
And another pointing out the star had now become “part of two (2) iconic Oscars moments” highlighting that she was also in Ellen DeGeneres’s then social media breaking selfie from the 2014 ceremony.
Will’s reaction has split opinion with some championing him for taking a chivalrous stand to defend his wife’s honour, while others have condemned his actions as violent behaviour.
The actor himself was attending Sunday night’s event where he was nominated for – and won – the Best Actor award for his role as Richard Williams in tennis biopic, King Richard.
Accepting his award later in the evening, Will tearfully said: "I want to apologise to the Academy, I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees."
He continued: "This is a beautiful moment and I'm not crying for winning an award, it's not about winning an award for me, it's about being able to shine a light on all of the people.
"Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams, but love will make you do crazy things."
Meanwhile, Los Angeles police confirmed they will not be arresting Will as Chris has refused to press charges.
A spokesperson for the force says it is "aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards programme...[which] involved one individual slapping another".
"The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."
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