Comedian and director Judd Apatow claims Will Smith 'could have killed' Chris Rock after slapping him at the Oscars.
The I Am Legend actor inadvertently created the biggest viral moment of 2022 after he smacked Rock across the face for a joke he made about Smith's wife, Jada.
The incident occurred after Rock made a 'G.I. Jane 2' joke, saying: "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see you."
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At first, Smith appeared to laugh it off while Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes, but he then walked onto the stage and slapped the comedian.
After making his way back to his seat, Smith added: "Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth!"
Rock replied: "Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke!"
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Smith once again yelled: "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!"
Pinkett Smith has previously opened up about her struggle with alopecia.
Fellow comedian and director Apatow addressed the conflict on social media, where he slammed Will in a tweet that has now been deleted.
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He wrote: "He could have killed him. That's pure out of control rage and violence.
"They've heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades.
"They are not freshmen in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind."
Smith later indirectly apologised in his Oscar acceptance speech, saying: "I want to apologise to the Academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees.
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"Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things."
Smith won the Best Actor Oscar for his leading role in the Serena and Venus Williams biopic King Richard.
The Academy has had its say on the incident, writing on Twitter: "The Academy does not condone violence of any form.
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"Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."
However, according to Diddy – aka P. Diddy/Sean Combs – the pair have already patched things up.
Speaking at the Vanity Fair bash, he reportedly told Page Six: "That’s not a problem. That’s over. I can confirm that. It’s all love. They’re brothers."
Whether or not you take Diddy's word for it, I suspect this won't be the last we hear about this.
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Topics: Oscars, Will Smith, Chris Rock
Anish Vij