I attended the 94th Academy Awards ceremony as a seat filler and witnessed actor Will Smith slap comedian Chris Rock onstage, following a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Up until the Smith-Rock confrontation, attendees at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood were in constant motion — with seat fillers jumping up to plug in empty spaces as attendees ran to the restroom or decided to hang out in the bar or other common areas.
Throughout the show, there were bouts of applause, laughter, and occasional chatter, but the mood shifted after the confrontation, which happened about two and a half hours into the ceremony.
"Jada, I love you. 'GI Jane 2,' can't wait to see it," Rock said onstage, apparently referencing Pinkett Smith's green gown and cropped hair.
The audience laughed, as they did throughout the show at other jokes that may have been controversial or came at the expense of others — such as Regina Hall's bit where she felt up Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa under the guise of "safety protocols" and Amy Schumer's joke referring to Kirsten Dunst, a nominee for Best Supporting Actress, as a seat filler.
Though the live broadcast was being played in the theater, I was seated in the back center of the first-floor audience, so it wasn't until after the show that I saw that Smith's initial reaction to Rock's joke was to laugh, while Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes and looked annoyed. Pinkett Smith has previously talked about having alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss.
But I did see what happened next: Smith stormed the stage and slapped Rock in the face.
Guests were clearly confused and seemed to question the authenticity of the moment, with some thinking at first that it was part of a skit.
"Oh, wow," Rock said, seemingly in shock. "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me."
The audience laughed after Rock's comment but went completely silent when Smith shouted twice at Rock: "Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth."
The moment was brief but tense. The show moved forward, but the incident remained on everyone's mind for the rest of the evening.
The feeling in the room had changed — some people were visibly uncomfortable, and others were confused. Seated guests whispered to each other through the rest of the show.
Three other people and I discussed having to regain our composure. I was completely shaken up, anticipating that Smith would be thrown out of the event.
Canadian actress Amy Forsyth, who played Gertie in Best Picture-winning "CODA" and was seated in front of me, was visibly shocked by the altercation.
Another attendee condemned Smith and told me that violence is unacceptable. Two others nearby were initially confused by the slap, but then brought up Jada Pinkett Smith's struggle with alopecia.
Others continued to wonder if the incident was staged, and there seemed to be a mixed reaction about whether Smith's response to the joke was understandable or completely out of line.
Audience members in the back of the house were able to see guests approach Smith throughout the show. Stars like Denzel Washington and Tyler Perry spoke to Smith following the incident.
Not even a half-hour later, Smith was awarded an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in "King Richard."
He addressed the incident in his acceptance speech.
"I'm being called on in my life to love people," Smith said. "And to protect people. And to be a river to my people."
"I know to do what we do, you got to be able to take abuse. You got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you have to smile and you've got to pretend that's OK," he added.
Here's Will Smith's tearful acceptance speech at the #Oscars. https://t.co/ulvT7fsB57 pic.twitter.com/Uq2krBbBld
The crowd seemed moved by his speech and many responded with a standing ovation.
By the end of the night, attendees headed off to various after-parties — while viewers remained abuzz about the unexpected awards-show slap.
