The slap heard around the world sent social media into a 48–hour long frenzy. The infamous moment was when Will Smith smacked Chris Rock in the face live on the Oscars stage.
Moments following the appalling moment that took place in front of the academy and live on television, Questlove won an Oscar in the category of best documentary for his 2021 directorial debut, “Summer of Soul (…or When the Revolution Was Not Televised),” about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which featured nearly lost footage of the concert series. While The Roots’ drummer gave a tearful speech mentioning his late father Lee Andrews with his mother Jacqui Andrews in the audience, many were still bewildered by what took place just minutes before.
Questlove’s moment on stage foretold how the celebratory moments for minorities during this year’s Oscars would later be overshadowed by the altercation between Smith and Rock.
The Oscars audience was full of waving hands in the American Sign Language sign for applause when “CODA” was announced the winner of the best picture Academy Award. “CODA” is the first film to center deaf characters and receive wide distribution. “CODA” director Sian Heder won best adapted screenplay for her film, and Troy Kotsur took home the award for best supporting actor for his role in the film, becoming the first male deaf actor to win an Oscar.
In days prior to this year’s Academy Awards ceremony, Denzel Washington presented Samuel L. Jackson with an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement at the Governors Awards presentation, the first–ever Oscar presented to him. Jackson is well known for his roles in “Pulp Fiction,” “Coach Carter” and “Django Unchained.”
For her performance as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story,” Ariana DeBose made history as the first Afro-Latina and openly queer actor of color to win an Oscar.
“So to anybody who’s ever questioned your identity ever, ever, ever or you find yourself living in the gray spaces, I promise you this: There is indeed a place for us,” she said in her acceptance speech.
While two of the 2022 Oscars hosts denounced Smith, Amy Schumer referred to the incident as “disturbing,” along with Wanda Sykes who called it “gross” during a conversation on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
Many have pointed out that Rock was the face of a 2009 documentary called “Good Hair,” where the star explores the importance of Black hair. But while presenting at this year’s Oscars, Rock made a joke — “G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it” — aimed at Jada Pinkett-Smith, who has recently been sporting a shaved cut due to suffering from alopecia and was not impressed at the remark as she rolled her eyes.
The incident has sparked many opinions from stars who were in attendance; including “Girls Trip” star Tiffany Haddish, who called the incident “the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.”
“When I saw a Black man stand up for his wife. That meant so much to me,” Haddish told People magazine after the Oscars.
After the academy’s decision to cut eight technical categories from airing and introduce fan voting for top film and movie moment via social media, this year’s Oscars was up in ratings from last year but still the second least viewed of all time at 16.6 million viewers.
“Some people think it was fake because the Oscars have had such a decline in their ratings. I mean, last year, it was the smallest audience they ever had,” said Joseph Kasko, mass communication professor at Winthrop. “I think this one was still the second smallest? It definitely got people talking about it. Will more people watch next year? I don’t know. But I think a lot of people maybe don’t watch because what they experience in their own lives is so removed and different from that lifestyle.”
As a result of the actions that took place on March 27, Smith is now banned from attending the Oscars and other film academy awards for 10 years, effective April 8, 2022.
Despite the ten-year attendance ban, Smith has not lost his Oscar award or the privilege to be nominated or receive future accolades from the academy.
