Jimmy Kimmel was just as shocked as the rest of the world as he watched Will Smith smack Chris Rock in the face in the middle of Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony. On Monday night’s Jimmy Kimmel Live, the host shared a clip of the incident, which he compared to the time “Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ears.”
Kimmel, of course, is no stranger to Oscars ceremonies-gone-wrong. He has hosted the awards twice now, including in 2017, when La La Land was mistakenly announced as the year’s Best Picture when, in fact, it was Moonlight that had won the award. But Kimmel knows that this year’s antics have now put that ceremony in second place among the wildest things to ever happen at the Oscars. And while he admitted that he was shocked as he watched the slap heard ‘round the world go down, he also admitted that he was slightly confused:
“The weird part is that initially Will Smith laughed at that joke. But then he must’ve looked over and noticed that Jada was not amused. He’s like, ‘Uh-oh, I better do something.’ And boy did he do something! I mean, in one stunning moment, the night went from #OSCARSSOWHAT to #OSCARSSOWHAAAAT?!?!.
No one could have predicted the most controversial movie of 2022 G.I. Jane, but it was. This was the Hollywood version of your drunk uncle starting a fight, ruining the wedding, and then standing up and giving a long toast to the bride and groom.”
You can watch Kimmel’s full conversation about it above.
