Will Smith used his acceptance speech after winning the Oscar for Best Actor to apologise to the Academy and his fellow nominees after earlier striking Chris Rock on stage.
Notably, Smith did not apologise to Rock himself.
At the conclusion of his lengthy, tearful speech, Smith joked that he hopes the Academy “invites me back”.
Rock had taken to the stage to present the award for Best Documentary when he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s appearance.
“Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see you,” he quipped in an apparent reference to the actor’s shaved head.
Smith then walked onstage and struck the comedian, yelling “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth”.
Pinkett Smith – who announced last year that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia – could be seen in the audience together with her husband, rolling her eyes at the joke.
“Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me,” said Rock, looking visibly shocked at the moment.
Smith went on to win Best Actor for King Richard and, during his speech, shared what Denzel Washington told him in the aftermath of the incident.
Following the incident, a joke Rock made about Pinkett Smith at the 2016 Oscars resurfaced online.
Earlier in the ceremony, Regina Hall – who was hosting the ceremony alongside Schumer and Wanda Sykes – poked fun at Smith and Pinkett Smith’s marriage.
Find the full list of 2022 Oscar winners here.
