On March 27, 2022 the Grammys started, and it was all going good until Chris Rock went up on stage.
Chris Rock, being the comedian that he is, made a joke about Will Smith’s wife. The joke went as, “Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it, all right?” Everyone laughed as the camera went onto Jada and Will.
Now, Will was laughing, but when he saw his wife not amused by the joke, he stopped laughing. He went up on stage and slapped Chris Rock in the face.
Everyone was shocked, and it went quiet. Although it seemed staged at first, it quickly became clear that it was not.
Reactions were divided by those shocked by Smith’s behavior and those in support of Jada and her disease.
Will Smith did send out apologies on Instagram and Facebook and apologized to Chris Rock.
Will Smith resigned his membership to the academy on April 1, 2022 facing a potential suspension from the organization. The academy has banned Smith from attending the Oscars or any events for ten years.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." This was what Will said to Chris.
There have been some rumors about Chris that he actually apologized himself but fact checkers found it was a lie started by random people to get attention.
