Who is Chris Rock, presenter SLAPPED by Will Smith at Oscars 2022? All you need to know

New Delhi: Hollywood actor Will Smith slapped comedian and Oscars 2022 presenter Chris Rock on stage after the latter made a distasteful joke on the actor's wife Jada Pinkett's hair and medical condition.

This shocking incident sparked debate all over the internet with people discussing Will Smith's action towards Chris Rock on an internationally recognised and viewed event such as the Academy Awards.

Why did Will Smith slap Chris Rock?

For the unversed, Chris Rock attempted to crack a joke on Jada's short, shaved hair and compared her to Demi Moore's shaved hair look in G.I Joe, he referred to Jada as G.I Jane. This irked Will Smith as Jada is suffering from an incurable, auto-immune condition called alopecia which leads to hair loss. 

Angered by Chris Rock's joke, Will Smith walked up to the stage and slapped Chris across the face and then said, "Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth."

The clip of the incident has since gone viral on the internet.

Who is Chris Rock?

Chris Rock is a popular American comedian and actor. He also dabbled in writing, producing and directing. In the early 1990s, he was part of the wildly popular show 'Saturday Night Live' and gained much recognition from it.

Later, he made his entry into films, starring in 'Down to Earth', 'Head of State', 'The Longest Yard', 'Madagascar film series', 'Grown Ups', 'Grown Ups 2', 'Top Five' among others. In 2005, he had his own sitcom titled 'Everybody Hates Chris' loosely based on his early life which aired till 2009.

He directed his first documentary in 2009 titled 'Good Hair' which dealt with how African-American women have styled their hair and perceived it in the midst of Eurocentric beauty standards.

It first premiered at the coveted Sundance Film Festival in 2009 and earned much praise from critics along with a Special Jury Prize.

Most recently, in 2020, he played a role in season 4 of the black comedy-drama series 'Fargo'.

On the personal front, Chris had married Malaak Compton-Rock in 1996. However, the duo got divorced in 2016. They share two daughters Lola Simone and Zahra Savannah. According to report, Chris had filed for divorce after his bouts with infidelity and a pornography addiction.