Will Smith and Chris Rock are making headlines all over the world for this violent Oscars encounter – but they were once caught looking much more close during an episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
The iconic teen comedy launched 53-year-old Will to international superstardom back in the 1990s as the show followed his fish out of water journey as his character, also called Will, moved in with his wealthy relatives in LA.
Comedy star Chris, 57, had a one time part in the show – popping up during the second episode of season six in an episode titled Get A Job.
The episode in question saw Will and on-screen cousin Carlton, played by Alfonso Ribeiro, competing for a job on Hilary’s talk show.
Will won the job – but had to take a comedian’s sister out on a date as part of his duties.
Chris played the comedian in question, Maurice Perry – and also, in drag, the comedian’s sister, Jasmine, with the episode ending with Will and Jasmine coming face to face.
The closing scene saw Jasmine whisper the amusing line: “I can’t wait for you to take me to Santa Barbara for the weekend… I hear they have nude beaches” – while pressing herself against an unimpressed Will.
The lighthearted moment is a far cry from the scenes of violence that unfolded during the 94th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night, however.
The A List audience were left shocked and aghast when Chris made an ill-judged joke about Will’s alopecia suffering wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.
The exchange prompted Will to get up from his seat, storm the stage, slap Chris square across the face, return to his seat and then proceed to scream “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!” while the live audience fell silent.
Will and Chris have a long history of provoking each other – with he comedian frequently taking shots at the now Oscar-winning star.
Back in 2016, while hosting the main Oscars show, Chris joked that Jada had boycotted the show after Will failed to be nominated for his role in the film Concussion.
He quipped: “Jada got mad, said she's not coming. Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna ’s panties. I wasn't invited.
"You get mad. It's not fair that Will was this good and didn't get nominated. It's also not fair that Will was paid $20 million for Wild Wild West."
The two men endured something of a Twitter spat in 2018, as Will paid tribute to ex-wife Sheree Zampino – who he divorced in 1995 and shares a 30-year-old son named Trey – to wish her happy birthday.
Will tweeted: “Happy Bday, @shereezampino. #BestBabyMamaEver! :-) I Love You, Ree-Ree,”
But Chris then intervened to tweet: “Wow. You have a very understanding wife” – prompting Will to hit back: “Don’t hate.”
After winning his Best Actor award on Sunday night, Will made reference to his shocking smackdown moment during his acceptance speech.
Fighting back tears, the star 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."
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