Will Smith walked up on stage and smacked the snot out of Chris Rock in the most jaw-dropping incident in Oscars history on Sunday.
The WTF moment completely overshadowed the actor’s Best Actor Award for King Richard.
The comedian had been presenting the best documentary feature award when he cracked a joke about Will’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, who has alopecia.
Referring to her shaven head, Rock said: “Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2”, at which the actress rolled her eyes.
Jada has been struggling with hair loss since revealing her diagnosis in 2018.
Standing up for his motjie, Will, 53, marched onto the stage and moered Rock with an open right hand.
Rock staggered and exclaimed, “Wow, Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me.”
Will, still fuming, walked back to his seat and shouted repeatedly: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.”
A flustered Rock said: “That was the greatest night in the history of television.”
After the slap, Will was seen being comforted and consoled by Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and Bradley Cooper.
Will and Rock have had a running feud over the past five years, the comedian has been guilty of making offside jokes about the Smiths.
Minutes later Will, who plays Venus and Serena Williams’ father in King Richard, defended his actions during his acceptance speech.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” he said.
He continued: “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.
He shared that Denzel had told him: “At your highest moment, be careful because that’s when the devil comes for you.”
Ultimately, Will apologised to the academy and to his fellow nominees.
“Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father. But love will make you do crazy things.”
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed Rock had declined to lay a charge.
Below is the full list of 2022 Academy Awards winners
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Will Smith, King Richard
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Jessica Chastain, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Director - Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Troy Kotsur, CODA
Best Original Screenplay - Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Best Adapted Screenplay - Siân Heder, CODA
Best Film Editing - Joe Walker, Dune
Best Animated Feature - Encanto
Best Animated Short - The Windshield Wiper
Best Live-Action Short - The Long Goodbye
Best International Feature - Drive My Car (Japan)
Best Documentary Feature - Summer of Soul
Best Documentary Short - The Queen of Basketball
Best Original Score - Hans Zimmer, Dune
Best Original Song - No Time to Die by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell
Best Sound - Mac Ruth, Mark Mangini, Theo Green, Doug Hemphill, and Ron Bartlett, Dune
Best Costume Design - Jenny Beavan, Cruella
Best Make-up and Hairstyling - Linda Dowds, Stephanie Ingram and Justin Raleigh, The Eyes of Tammy Faye
Best Production Design - Dune — Production Design: Patrice Vermette; Set Decoration: Zsuzsanna Sipos
Best Visual Effects - Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, Brian Connor, and Gerd Nefzer, Dune
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