The slap is on the wall.
Will Smith’s confrontation with Chris Rock has spurred torrents of viral memes, spoofs, reaction videos and even animations since the night of the 94th Academy Awards.
An hour before he was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard — in the role of Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams — Smith stormed the stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Will's wife.
Pinkett Smith has spoken publicly about her hair loss from alopecia, which was the target of Rock's joke. Rock likened her hair to Demi Moore's bald head in the 1997 film GI Jane, which prompted Smith to confront him in a seemingly unscripted moment.
Now, the incident has been rendered into a mural on the remaining section of the Berlin Wall.
The graffiti work by Dominican artist Jesus Cruz Artiles shows Smith slapping Rock, but is captioned as an expectation vs reality meme. In the mural, Smith is representing “real life”, whereas Rock is labelled as “my fantastic social media life”.
Artiles, who goes by the moniker Eme Freethinker, posted the work on his Instagram. “Sorry … I can’t resist,” he wrote in the post. “How’re you doing Real Life?”
Meanwhile, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has started disciplinary proceedings to determine possible penalties against Smith.
The academy said he had been asked to leave Sunday night’s ceremony after he slapped Rock, but refused to.
The actor is being given at least 15 days’ notice on a vote about his breaches of the academy's code of conduct. Smith will be given the opportunity to be heard beforehand with a written response. The organisation’s board of governors are scheduled to meet again on Monday, April 18.
Smith apologised to Rock, the academy and the Williams family via an Instagram post on Monday.
"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable," he wrote.
Rock spoke out about the slap during his sold-out Ego Death comedy tour, which began on Wednesday night in Boston.
Walking on stage to a standing ovation, Rock said: “So, how was your weekend?” He said he was “still processing” what had happened during the Oscars ceremony.
He then reportedly got upset, saying: “Let me be all misty … I don’t have a bunch to say about that, so if you came here for that … I had written a whole show before this weekend.
“I’m still processing what happened, so at some point I’ll talk about that. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now, I’m going to tell some jokes.”
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In an unexpected moment at the 2022 Academy Awards, actor Will Smith slaps comedian Chris Rock. AFP -
Smith confronts Rock onstage at the Oscars after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. AFP -
Rock likened Jada Pinkett Smith's hair to a GI Jane haircut, which prompted her husband to take to the stage to confront Rock in a seemingly unscripted moment. Reuters -
Smith leaves the stage at the Oscars after slapping Rock for a remark he made about his wife Jada. She lost her hair because of alopecia. AP -
Smith and Jada arrive at the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood, California. AFP -
Smith wins Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in King Richard, at the 2022 Oscars. AFP -
Smith, in tears, pays tribute to his wife Jada during his acceptance speech. AFP -
Smith with wife Jada after he won the Oscar award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. AFP -
Serena Williams at the Oscar Awards on Sunday, March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. AP -
Serena and sister Venus Williams introduce a performance by Beyonce at the Oscars. AP -
US tennis star Venus attends the 94th Oscars. AFP
