In a night filled with performances and appearances from the likes of Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and the Williams sisters, the moment that had everyone talking after Sunday night's Academy Award ceremony was an on-stage altercation between actor Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock.
Rock was presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature when he cracked an unsavoury joke about Smith's wife — fellow actor Jada Pinkett Smith.
As reported by Glasgow Live, she appeared at the ceremony with a shaved head following an alopecia diagnosis back in 2018.
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"Jada, can't wait for GI Jane 2," Rock quipped during his monologue, referencing a 1997 war film starring Demi Moore in which a woman shaves her head as part of her initiation into the US Navy.
Alopecia causes loss of hair from part of the head or body, and therefore many found Rock's joke to be insensitive — and Pinkett Smith herself looked visibly uncomfortable.
Although Smith — who later in the evening won the award for Best Actor for his appearance as Richard Williams in King Richard — initially appeared to laugh at the joke, seconds later he marched onstage and slapped the comedian across the face.
After returning to his seat, the actor then stated loudly: "Keep my wife's name out of your f****** mouth."
During his teary-eyed acceptance speech, Smith apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees for the incident — though notably not Rock himself.
There has since been a heated debate online regarding whether Smith have his award taken away for his use of violence, and there have been strong opinions on both sides of the argument.
To learn more about what Scottish viewers thought, Edinburgh Live asked its readers this morning: "Should Will Smith be stripped of his Oscar after slapping Chris Rock on stage at the awards ceremony?"
Many defended Smith, with one commenting: "NO NO NO. The award was well deserved for a film Will was in. ROCK SHOULD APOLOGISE TO THE SMITHS. Congrats to Will for the love and support of his wife. The looks on their faces showed how upset they were at Rocks words."
A second wrote: "I didn't see the incident but any man worth his salt should defend his wife and family. He should keep his Oscar and the comic should apologise."
"No, insulted his wife so crossing the line of funny and personal I'd have done the same," argued a third.
"No, he was sticking up for his wife like any decent husband would," a fourth shared.
Meanwhile, one reader who felt Smith should have his award taken away said: "Yes he certainly should any kind of violence is not acceptable at any point what kind of example is he setting just because he’s famous it’s not on".
Another posted: "Yes, think this man seriously needs to grow up. What kind of example is he setting, that it's ok just to get up and smack someone like that.
A third stated: "The rules of law do not apply to the elites in California. If we walked around hitting people because of nasty remarks we’d all be in jail. I don’t think Chris rock was right talking about his wife’s auto immune disease, it’s cruel but you don’t turn to violence because of it."
What do you think of the incident? Was Will Smith right to slap Chris Rock for his remark? Let us know in the comments.
