Source: AFP/Robyn Beck

The Oscars 2022 was sprinkled with violence among actors. Bradley Cooper and Denzel Washington were involved to cool down the heating situation!

The prestigious award night was colored by a showdown between Will Smith and Chris Rock. The incident, which greatly shocked the audience and viewers at home, was triggered by Chris Rock’s joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada-Pinkett Smith.

Chris Rock, who was on stage to read out the Best Documentary nominations, threw a joke to Jada-Pinkett Smith with the word “G.I, Jane”, which referred to the bald-headed character in G.I. Joe (1997) played by Demi Moore. The stand-up comedian was given a hard slap on the cheek when Will Smith decided to hop on stage to show his annoyance.

Chris’s joke was considered offensive and insensitive considering Jada’s current condition is caused by her battle with alopecia. The slap from Will Smith to Chris Rock was immediately trending and went viral around the world because this had never happened before in the history of the Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences issued a statement condemning violence in any form on its official Twitter account.

Not only that, The Academy also reminded that this award event was, is, and will always be a pure form of appreciation from fellow peers and movie lovers around the world, to those who won the awards in various categories.

Bradley Cooper, Tyler Perry, and Denzel Washington as fellow actors seemed to intervene in the situation by approaching Will Smith who was still consumed in a big wave of anger. This commercial break was taken as an advantage to cool down the tension and these rather-sweet moments immediately caught the attention of the media.

In a statement released by LAPD to Variety, the police didn’t receive any reports from Chris Rock. Even when he was on stage, Chris Rock, who gasped for a moment after getting a slap from Will Smith, only responded to the slap casually and kept trying to throw some jokes.

“LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report.” ― LAPD to Variety.

As movie enthusiasts and loyal supporters, we surely have to stay as neutral as possible to prevent further sparks of provocative messages or actions. We also do hope that the tension between Will Smith and Chris Rock will meet the best peaceful resolution.

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