Last night’s (March 27th) Oscars ceremony was overshadowed by a shocking moment when Best Actor nominee Will Smith walked onstage from his front-row seat and smacked Chris Rock across the face.

Rock, who had come out to present the best documentary award, made a few jokes about people in the audience. Among them was Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, with Rock making a G.I. Jane joke because of her very closely cropped hair.

Pinkett-Smith has spoken publicly about having alopecia, which causes hair loss. Smith walked on stage and smacked Rock, and then returned to his seat, twice shouting, “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth!”

Smith then was back onstage moments later when he won Best Actor for King Richard, and tearfully apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees — but not Rock — while also seeming to justify what he’d done.

Referring to Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams who he played in King Richard, Smith said, “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” and stated, “Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But, love will make you do crazy things.”

He also said, “I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people.”

Source: Associated Press