Last night's Oscars ceremony took an unexpectedly dramatic turn when Will Smith ended up slapping Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith - whose previous comments about a heartbreaking condition may provide some answers about why her husband felt so enraged. Watch the moment again here:
Jada Pinkett Smith was sitting in the audience with husband Will when Rock made a quip about her shaven head.
Advert
"Jada, I love you - G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it!" Rock told her, as a nod to Demi Moore's 1997 film G.I. Jane, which saw lead actor Demi Moore shave her head for the role.
Initially her husband was laughing along, but she wasn't - at one point rolling her eyes as Rock tried to defend himself, saying: "That was a nice one!"
Moments later, Smith could be seen striding up on stage and slapping a stunned Rock before heading back to his seat.
Advert
"Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me," Rock told the audience.
Smith then shouted from his seat: "Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth."
Pinkett Smith has previously spoken about her 'struggle' with alopecia, saying that while she wants to 'be friends' with her hair loss, it hasn't been an easy ride.
During a 2018 episode of Red Table Talk, she recalled how scared she felt when she first starting losing her hair.
Advert
"It was terrifying when it first started," Pinkett Smith said.
"I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, oh my god, am I going bald?"
In a video posted on Instagram last December, she also revealed how it happened 'just all of a sudden one day', but that she was determined to find peace with the condition.
Showing her scalp to the camera, she said: "Now, at this point I can only laugh, but y'all know I've been struggling with alopecia."
Advert
In the caption, she added: "Mama's gonna have to take it down to the scalp so nobody thinks she got brain surgery or something. Me and this alopecia are going to be friends... period!"
While her husband has not confirmed what exactly about Rock's comments made him strike the comedian, the 53-year-old addressed the incident in his speech, saying: "I want to apologise to the academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees."
He continued: "Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things."
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/Jada Pinkett Smith/ABCTopics: Entertainment, Celebrity, jada pinkett smith, Will Smith, Oscars