We are living in a simulation
Happy Oscars! Here’s what’s happened so far: The Academy Awards made the extremely unpopular decision to move a couple of awards from the live show to the pre-show, including Production Design, Editing, Original Score, and Documentary Short.
The latter meant that Riz Ahmed won an award for his short film The Long Goodbye, and no one at home saw it live (it will air in the live broadcast later today).
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Ariana DeBose won her predicted Best Supporting Actress Award for the role of Anita in West Side Story, and Tony Kotsur is now the first deaf man to have won an acting Oscar (Best Supporting Actor) for his role as Frank Rossi in CODA.
NOW. Here’s what you’re all reading this article for. If you were watching at home (or sneaking in looks at Twitter while at the office), you probably saw Will Smith get up and punch Chris Rock. Wait, what?
Yes, Will Smith, who was the predicted favorite to win the Best Actor Award for his role as Richard Williams in King Richard (which he eventually won) got up on stage and full-on decked Chris Rock.
Afterward, the live show went silent, but other countries airing the program went on as normal, which is how we all saw what happened next (other than Japan, Australia aired complete as well). Lupita’s face says it all:
So, what happened, and why? Rock made what in hindsight was an ill-advised joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s bald head, saying she was going to star in a G.I. Jane remake, because of her lack of hair. Pinkett-Smith happens to be Smith’s wife, and more importantly, went public about her alopecia diagnosis last year:
Alopecia is a medical condition that causes temporary or permanent hair loss and can be the result of hereditary reasons, hormonal changes, other conditions, or aging. Pinkett-Smith has been quite emotional and open about her diagnosis, helping normalize a condition that in 2018 affected over 147 million people.
The crowd at the Dolby Theater was justifiably stunned. Diddy, up next to introduce the 50th anniversary special to “The Godfather” (very fitting!) said that the two were going to solve the altercation like family.
According to Variety, Smith’s publicist Meredith O. Sullivan got up to talk to Smith, after which Denzel Washington soon followed.
Because this is Hollywood, the show must go on, but surely, this will overshadow everything that happens next, including Smith’s Best Actor win (for what it’s worth, he apologized).
