Oscars 2022: Here's how Jada Pinkett reacted to Chris Rock's joke before Will Smith's slap

The 94th Academy award turned quite eventful after award presenter Chris Rock got smacked across his face by King Richard star Will Smith after the former made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's baldness. The energy shifted from fun and jolly crowd to stunned silence as the 53-year-old walked back to his seat. The entire dramatic moment was captured LIVE on air where millions of viewers witnessed the shocking outburst from Smith. 

Videos and pictures from the Dolby Theatre started circulating online as Will Smith and Chris Rock made headlines over the same. Amongst the celebrities that were captured sporting shocking expressions were Billie Eilish, Lupita Nyong'o, Nicole Kidman and more. 

Oscars 2022: How did Jada Pinkett react to Chris Rock's joke

In the video circulating online, Will Smith is seen laughing at Chris Rock's joke initially followed by several other people's soft laughter that echoed throughout the theatre. However, Pinkett Smith, who on several occasions has opened up about her Alopecia which causes her baldness, did not look amused. The 50-year-old was first holding a small smile on her face which quickly vanished after hearing Rock's joke.

Jada Pinkett Smith can be seen rolling her eyes in the video while Smith continued to laugh. Subsequently, Rock can be heard saying 'That was a nice one!'. A few seconds later, Smith can be seen walking cooly to the stage and hitting the host across his face. The theatre went silent whilst comprehending the situation as Smith returned to his seat and shouted, ''Keep my wife's name out your f***king mouth.''

Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock

Minutes later, Will Smith took to stage to collect his first-ever Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. He broke down on the stage and apologized by stating, ''I just hope they didn't see that on TV. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for trusting me with your story. That's what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern. I want to apologise to the academy. I want to apologise to my all my fellow nominees."

Image: AP/Instagram/@jadapinkettsmith