From Cardi B to Varun Dhawan: Celebs react to Will Smith, Chris Rock altercation at Oscars 2022

After actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at Oscars 2022, netizens and top celebrities across the world flooded social media with their reactions.

Singer Cardi B tweeted, “At your highest moment ...be careful that’s when the devil tries to come for you.”

For the unversed, while presenting the best documentary feature award at the Oscars, Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith’s shaved head by comparing it to the look of Demi Moore in the 1997 movie ‘G.I. Jane’.

Rock said that he couldn’t wait to see Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia, star in ‘G.I. Jane 2’ which led Smith to go up on stage and slap Rock.

Smith returned to his seat and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your (expletive) mouth!”

Reacting to the particular incident, Maria Shriver took to Twitter and wrote, “We should never get to a place where we sit and watch a movie star hit someone on global television then, moments later, get a standing ovation while talking about love. #WillSmith #Oscars.”

Comedian Trevor Noah wondered if the altercation between Smith and Rock was staged.

“Wtaf????? That wasn’t scripted,” he tweeted.

American rapper and actor Jaden Smith also weighed in on the eventful night that his parents had at the 94th Academy Awards.

Soon after the broadcast concluded, Jaden seemingly showed support for his dad on Twitter by writing, “And That’s How We Do It.”

In another tweet, Jaden shared a photo of himself wearing sunglasses in the backseat of a car, writing: “My Dads Speech Made Me Cry.”

Bollywood celebrities, too, took to their respective social media handles and reacted to the viral incident.

Varun Dhawan shared the clip on his Instagram Story and wrote, “Wow didn’t expect that also @chrisrock has a chin.”

Neetu Kapoor shared a picture of the much-talked-about moment on her Instagram Story.

She wrote, “And they say women can never control their emotions.”

Sophie Choudry shared her reaction on Twitter, writing, “Violence is never the way but cracking jokes about someone’s medical condition should not be acceptable either. This was supposed to be a career high for one of my favourite artists for a superb performance. Instead he’ll be remembered for this crazy incident.”

A few minutes after the incident, Smith was announced Best Actor at the Oscars. And during his acceptance speech, he apologised for his behaviour.

“I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people. Tim and Trevor and Zack and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjanue and the entire cast and crew of ‘King Richard,’ Venus and Serena, the entire Williams family. Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams,” Smith said in his tearful acceptance speech.

The 94th Academy Awards took place at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday.

• Americas