It’s the smack being talked about around the world, Philadelphia native Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Academy Awards over a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The attack overshadowed a historic night at the Oscars. Plus, Philadelphia leaders make a push to expand access to city libraries, Villanova men’s basketball is dancing to the Final Four again, the Plymouth-Whitemarsh girls’ basketball team caps an amazing championship season and Tom Hanks is popping up all over Pittsburgh. NBC10’s Keith Jones and Erin Coleman have The Lineup for Monday, March 28, 2022.
Philadelphia’s own Questlove and Will Smith both won big at the 94th annual Academy Awards while Smith was at the center of the show’s most talked about and controversial moment.
Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, best known as the drummer of the legendary hip hop band, “The Roots,” won Best Documentary Feature for his 2021 film “Summer of Soul,” which examines the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival. Philadelphia Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie was an executive producer on the film.
Smith, meanwhile, won Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams in “King Richard.” Yet his most memorable moment occurred right before Questlove’s win.
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Comedian Chris Rock, while presenting the nominees for Best Documentary, made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith starring in "G.I. Jane 2," apparently because her head is shaved. She did not laugh at the joke.
Pinkett-Smith last year publicly shared that she has alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that leads to hair loss.
Smith could then be seen walking to the stage, where he appeared to hit Rock.
Viewers at home were confused as to whether the altercation was staged at first, although the audio was cut as Smith seemed to yell an obscenity at Rock while walking back to his seat in the audience.
Once seated he again, on camera, yelled at Rock "Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth!”
Later, during his acceptance speech for Best Actor, Smith apologized to the academy and his fellow nominees.
"Love will make you do crazy things," he said.
