This year’s Oscars included shocks, sighs and surprises – but all one cares about is a slap in the face. The Oscars took place on Sunday night, with films such as The Power of the Dog, West Side Story, Licorice Pizza and Coda fighting it out in the big categories. The biggest story of the night had almost nothing to do with the awards: a shocking quarrel between Will Smith and Chris Rock sparked by a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada. Smith took the stage and appeared to hit Rock in the face before shouting at him not to mention his wife again. Undoubtedly, it overshadowed the night as a whole, and most importantly – a few minutes later – Smith’s victory for the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for King Richard. Through tears, Smith called himself a “vessel of love” and apologized to the Academy. The LAPD has confirmed that Rock is not making any allegations. The academy said it “does not approve of any form of violence” and launched a “formal review” of what happened. Hours later, Smith apologized to Rock, saying he was “ashamed.” After the incident on stage, celebrities such as Alec Baldwin and Adam Sandler spoke in favor of Rock, whose upcoming comedy tour has since had a huge wave of interest. You can follow all the developments for the “slap that was heard around the world” in our live blog below …
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Police are investigating the drone sighting near Will Smith’s home in LA
Police were called to investigate a drone he saw near Will Smith’s mansion in Los Angeles two days after “The Slap.” A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office told the media that police arrived at Smith’s home after someone reported a drone flying into the neighborhood. However, they declined to comment on whether the complaint was filed by a member of the Smith family or by a separate resident. “We just sent this unit there to try to locate the drone and see if there was a paparazzi or what was going on,” Deputy Lizette Salcon told Page Six. Peony Hirwani has the full story: Maanya Sachdeva March 30, 2022 06:17 1648611047
Zoë Kravitz is not impressed with The Slap
Batman star Zoë Kravitz is the latest celebrity to voice her displeasure with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock. The actress posted a photo on Instagram on Tuesday with herself on the red carpet, looking worried. “Here is a photo of my dress on the show where we are obviously attacking people on stage right now,” she wrote. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 4:30 p.m. 1648609247
Another critic Will Smith weighs in: Karim Abdul-Jabbar
Dozens of celebrities have voiced their opinion on Will Smith’s slap on Chris Rock, with many harshly criticizing King Richard’s actor’s behavior. NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the latest to take part in the battle. In a post on his Substack blog on Tuesday, the former Los Angeles Lakers man wrote: “When Will Smith stormed the Oscars to hit Chris Rock because he made a joke about his wife’s short hair, did much more damage than. in the face of Rock. “With a single humiliating blow, he supported violence, reduced women, insulted the entertainment industry and perpetuated stereotypes about the black community.” See how others reacted to The Slap. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 4:00 p.m. 1648606907
Slap-happy: Twitter users continue to tag Will Smith’s mistake over Oscar brawl
A man who shares the same name as Will Smith and has been verified on Twitter has been the target of abuse on the social networking platform since Sunday afternoon, as users continue to confuse him with the actor King Richard. Those who were upset by Sunday night’s events have criticized Smith on Twitter. Unfortunately, the actor does not appear to have a verified Twitter account and social media users have leveled their comments at a non-famous man who shares his name. Will Smith, a podcast host working in the communications field for video game developer Stray Bombay, wrote in a tweet on Sunday: “Really, I’m not the person you’re upset / happy with. I make podcasts and video games to make a living. Read more about Saman Javed’s story for Indy / Life. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 3:21 AM 1648605047
What do our Voices columnists say about The Slap?
Charles Arrowsmith explored how Will Smith’s past could help explain what happened. What went wrong? Who can say. Smith writes in his memoirs that his perfectionism of success is born of insecurity. It was a childhood marked by violence and a complicated relationship with an abusive father. His authentic, optimistic persona was not only the key to his first achievements in hip-hop, television and movies, but also a defense mechanism. “I had combined success with being loved and being happy,” he writes. Perhaps seeing his wife offended the moment he reached the pinnacle of his accomplishments was a blow he felt he simply could not bear. Meanwhile, Victoria Gagliardo-Silver has examined the particular wickedness of Chris Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, given his previous work on a documentary highlighting the cultural stigma surrounding black women’s appearances. Chris Rock was unique in being able to be sensitive to this issue, which makes his joke even harder to understand. In 2009, she starred in a documentary called Good Hair that explored the ways in which black women’s hair is stigmatized in Western societies. Then he explained why he wanted to make the documentary, saying that his three-year-old daughter had asked him: “Dad, how can I not have good hair?” This was supposedly a moment for Rock, where he realized the pressure that black women face to have hair that meets an impossible pattern. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 02:50 1648603307
The Oscar bartender shares an image behind the scenes of the award ceremony: “Everyone stopped drinking after being slapped”
An Oscar bartender shared a picture of the star-studded awards ceremony and which celebrities were the best at the 94th annual Academy Awards. The Oscars took place Sunday at the Dolby Theater in California, with the awards ceremony featuring a number of highlights, including an incident that saw Will Smith caress Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke with the actor’s wife, Janda Pinkett Smith. According to bartender Daniel Ralston, who reportedly worked on the event, the moment led to a change in the atmosphere at the awards ceremony, as he claimed on Twitter that “everyone stopped drinking after the slap”. “Barteda the Oscars. “Everyone stopped drinking after the slap,” Ralston wrote on Twitter on March 28. Chelsea Rachel has the details for Indy / Life. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 2:21 AM 1648601447
Not to forget: This was also Samuel L Jackson’s big night
(Getty Images)
The Oscar debate focused, not too shockingly, on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, but some on Twitter point to one of the lesser-known stories of the awards season: How legendary actor Samuel L Jackson finally won his Oscar . The Pulp Fiction star was honored with a life award on Friday during a non-television portion of the Oscars weekend. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 1:50 AM 1648599647
Did Chris Rock suffer the curse of the Scottish Game? Macbeth’s theory is gaining traction on Twitter
A day after Will Smith publicly slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, some on Twitter have a theory as to what caused the comedian’s misfortune: “Macbeth” said. According to an old superstition, one should never pronounce the name of Shakespeare’s character in a theater, except to perform or try a line from the play. Instead, the monarch should be referred to as “the King of Scotland” or “the Scottish lord” and the work itself as “the Scottish game”. Otherwise, one calls for destruction. And surely the catastrophe happened at the 94th Academy Awards, where an enraged Smith walked on stage and hit Rock in the face, then returned to his seat and cursed him hard from there. Interestingly, the moment preceded almost immediately when the comedian mentioned Macbeth. “Denzel!” Rock called from the stage Denzel Washington, who appeared last year in the film adaptation of Joel Cohen’s Shakespearean tragedy. “Macbeth! I loved it!” Nathan Place has the story. Josh Marcus 30 March 2022 01:20 1648598447
The Oscar audience grew by 550,000 after The Slap
It may not have been in the plan, but Will Smith slapping Chris Rock gave the Oscars a big boost, according to television reports. The audience tuned to the Oscars grew by about 550,000 to a total of 17.4 million people in the ten minutes after the slap, according to a New York Times analysis of Nielsen television numbers. However, that was not the culmination of the night. Nearly 17.7 spectators watched Troy Katsour, the first deaf person to win an Oscar for acting, receive the Best Supporting Actor award earlier in the show. Josh Marcus March 30, 2022 1:00 p.m. 1648597247
‘Crazy about it’: Customers react to Fashion Nova text report on Will Smith slap
Fashion Nova shocked its customers with a text message for a sale, which contained a reference to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face at this year’s Oscars. While on stage at the Dolby Theater on Sunday night, Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia, comparing her bald head to the GI Jane movie character. The joke was not accepted by Smith, as he went on stage and hit Rock in the face. The next day, Fashion Nova sent a message to its customers about a one-day sale, using the words “slapped” and “Rock” in connection with the stunning Oscar incident, which was shared on social media. “Fashion Nova: WE HAPPENED 40 percent of the ENTIRE Website!”, States the text, which was posted via Twitter. “It’s time to rock the new spring shows… Only today.” Amber Raiken has …