While much of last night’s ceremonies at the 94th Academy Awards wouldn’t seem out of place to long-time Oscars viewers, one clear exception came when Will Smith interrupted the show and slapped Chris Rock.
Although the incident underwent some edits before the Oscars reached American audiences, it was clear enough to most viewers what had happened and what brought about such an intense reaction.
That’s because Rock had just referenced Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head that served as her response to long struggle with alopecia and Smith followed the slap up by saying “Keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth.”
Naturally, such a dramatic incident left fans curious as to what happened behind the scenes after the slap occurred and it seems some audience members at the Oscars were happy to fill them in.
On the night of the Oscars, Variety editor Ramin Setoodeh posted a short clip to Twitter detailing what happened during the commercial break after Smith and Rock’s exchange.
Smith’s table can be seen to the left of the stage and a man and a woman can be seen speaking to him and Pinkett Smith in Setoodeh’s footage.
Although it’s unclear who the man speaking to Pinkett Smith was, Setoodeh identified the woman as Smith’s publicist.
Another video from The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Feinberg captured some later moments from the commercial break.
As we can see here, these moments saw Tyler Perry and Denzel Washington comfort Smith and apparently tell him to brush the situation off.
Washington then led Smith over to Bradley Cooper, who is pictured here offering his own words of comfort before they shared a hug.
Even as the show was ready to resume, Washington could be seen leaning over Pinkett Smith’s seat and comforting her as well.
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While that was going on, others backstage reportedly made sure that Rock was OK.
According to People , production staff also discussed whether Rock wanted to press charges (which the Los Angeles Police Department has since confirmed that he did not) and considered whether Smith should stay for the rest of the event.
As an anonymous staffer speaking to People said, “Having Will removed was definitely discussed seriously.”
But of course, since Smith went on to accept his Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role and apologized for the incident in an emotional speech, it seems those involved decided against this action.
But since Smith’s apology did not mention Rock, this fuelled speculation that the animosity between them has not been resolved.
However, rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has since claimed that the two men reconciled after the Oscars concluded.
As he put it, “That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that.”
h/t: People
