The camera cut off Pinkett Smith, who rolled her eyes as she sat next to Smith. “It was nice,” Rock said, seemingly responding to a joke that did not go well. Pinkett Smith was open about her fight with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that leads to hair loss Then Rock said, “Oh,” and laughed as Smith walked toward him on stage and seemed to hit Rock in the face. According to CNN reporter Stephanie Elam, who is in the audience, could hear Rock being beaten. Smith said twice during the incident, according to Elam, “Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth!” Rock replied, “Oh, wow.” For in-house spectators, the censors closed the verbal part of the exchange between Rock and Smith. The theater fell silent, and Rock said, “This was the biggest night in the history of television.” CNN contacted Smith’s Editor-in-Chief for comment. Sean “Diddy” Combs took the stage a few moments later and told Smith and Rock that they would sort things out “as a family” later. About 40 minutes after the incident, Smith returned to the stage to accept the Academy Award for Best Actor and apologized to the Academy and its nominees for the incident, but did not name Rock by name. He accepted the award with tears for the role of Richard Williams, father of Aphrodite and Serena Williams, in the movie “King Richard”. Smith said Williams “was a tough defender of his family.” Smith said, “I know what I’m doing, you have to be able to accept abuse and get people talking about you. In this business, you have to have people respecting you. And you have to smile and pretend that it is OK.” Smith also spoke of a “protector” and thanked the tennis legends and their family. Smith shared that before his victory, fellow candidate Denzel Washington shared some wisdom with him: “At the highest moment be careful, then the devil is coming for you.” Smith concluded by saying he hoped the Academy would welcome him back.
