The Academy Breaks Their Silence After Will Smith Slaps Chris Rock On Stage

Taylor Sakellis
will smith chris rock
Getty Images | Myung Chun

So many things happened at the 2022 Oscars last night it's difficult to keep track of it all. From CODA making Academy Awards history to Liza Minnelli and Lady Gaga's sweet exchange, there was a lot to discuss around the water cooler this morning.

Oh, there was also that incident where Will Smith punched Chris Rock in the face — almost forgot that part.

In case you missed the single most dramatic moment in Academy Awards history, I'll give you a quick rundown.

When comedian Chris Rock came out to present Best Documentary on Sunday night, he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head and asked her when G.I. Jane 2 was coming out.

For those who have been following Jada's hair loss journey, you most likely winced in your seat at the joke.

Moments after the comment was made, Will appeared on stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face in a totally surprising and unscripted moment.

At 1 AM on Monday morning, the Academy released a statement following the event on Twitter.

will smith
Giphy | The Academy Awards

"The Academy does not condone violence of any form," the organization tweeted, before shifting the focus to the night's winners.

"Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."

The tweet was met with mixed reactions for viewers.

A lot of people felt the Academy condoned the violence by giving Will the Best Actor award just an hour after the event.

It's clear to see this issue is deep and ongoing, and everyone will have something to say about it.

One of those people who had an opinion? Tiffany Haddish.

tiffany haddish
Giphy | MTV Movie & TV Awards

"When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me," Haddish told People.

She continued by saying:

"As a woman, who has been unprotected, for someone to say, 'Keep my wife's name out your mouth, leave my wife alone,' that's what your husband is supposed to do, right? Protect you."

"And that meant the world to me."

tiffany haddish
Giphy | Girls Trip

"And maybe the world might not like how it went down, but for me, it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen because it made me believe that there are still men out there that love and care about their women, their wives."

"Would you do that for your wife?"

"Would you say, 'Keep my wife's name out your mother[expletive...' Like, yes! Yes!"

Haddish expressed that she had no idea why Rock even went down that road to begin with. "Why would you do that? He didn't even run the joke by her, but she was hurt though."

"If she wouldn't have been hurt, [Will] probably wouldn't have said nothing," she said.

tiffany haddish
Giphy | National Geographic Channel

"But you could see he was clearly… And they exploited it. They exploited her, so 'I have to do something'… He protected his wife."

No matter what, people will certainly have their opinions.

And this moment will definitely be going down in Oscars history, that much is for sure.