Will Smith apologizes to Oscars after hitting Chris Rock onstage: 'Love will make you do crazy things'

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards after the comedian made a joke about a possible "G.I. Jane" sequel directed at Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head. The moment, which left audiences puzzled as to what happened, occurred just before Smith won an Oscar for best actor.

Smith had at first seemed to laugh, while his wife, who has talked about her struggle with hair loss from alopecia, rolled her eyes and looked upset.

Rock continued speaking before presenting the award for best documentary feature, as Smith got out of his seat, walked up to Rock and slapped him.

The Oscars audience, both in the theater and at home, at first was perplexed. Was that slap staged, or was Smith actually that angry with the comedian?

"Will Smith just slapped the (expletive) out of me," Rock deadpanned to the audience.

"Keep my wife's name out of your (expletive) mouth," Smith shouted.

"Wow, dude. It was a 'G.I. Jane' joke," Rock replied. Smith repeated his previous remarks.

Will Smith and Chris Rock: Rock doesn't file police report after slap at the Oscars, LAPD says

'Was that real?': Social media is stunned about Will Smith appearing to smack Chris Rock

Was the Will Smith slap real?

At first watch on TV, the slap looked and sounded to be fake. But the shock from the audience in Hollywood's Dolby Theater was palpable.

Moments later, Smith accepted the award for best actor for his role as Venus and Serena Williams' father in "King Richard," dubbing the patriarch a "fierce defender of his family."

"I'm being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people," he said through tears. "I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse, you’ve got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you. And you gotta smile and you've got to pretend like that’s okay."

The Fresh Prince is crowned: Will Smith wins best actor on an infamous Oscar night

Smith continued: "I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to my fellow nominees. … Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things."

"I hope the academy invites me back. Thank you," he concluded.

USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Smith, Pinkett Smith and Rock for comment.

The Academy released its own statement: "The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."

Rock's "G.I. Jane" joke seemed to be referring to Pinkett Smith's near-bald hair – the 1997 war drama starred Demi Moore with a shaved head. Pinkett Smith has been open since 2018 about dealing with alopecia, an autoimmune skin disease that can cause hair loss on the scalp, face or other areas of the body, according to the American Academy of Dermatology Association.

On the red carpet: A bald Jada Pinkett Smith turns heads with elaborate, emerald gown at 2022 Oscars. See the look

Smith and Pinkett Smith were spotted holding hands in the audience following the incident. They were joined at their seats by several stars during the commercial break, including Daniel Kaluuya, who dapped up Smith, Keith Urban, who gave the actor a hug, and Ariana DeBose, who hugged Pinkett Smith. Smith's publicist also came over to speak with the couple.

Oscar watchers and celebrities shared reactions online, from shock as to what happened, to anger that violence took place center stage.

Rock and the Smiths have previously beefed surrounding the Oscars. In 2016, Rock, then the host of the awards show, poked fun during his opening monologue at Pinkett Smith, who chose to boycott attending the show over a lack of diversity among the acting nominees.

"It comes with the territory," Pinkett Smith told X17 at the time. “Hey, look, it comes with the territory, but we gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. We gotta keep it moving. There’s a lot of stuff we gotta handle, a lot of stuff in our world right now. We gotta keep it moving."

During press interviews after the show, reporters were told to not ask questions that didn't relate to the movies or wins.

Could Will Smith be arrested for hitting Chris Rock?

And while fans wondered if Smith could be arrested for assault, the Los Angeles Police Department weighed in, releasing this statement: "LAPD investigative entities are aware of an incident between two individuals during the Academy Awards program. The incident involved one individual slapping another. The individual involved has declined to file a police report. If the involved party desires a police report at a later date, LAPD will be available to complete an investigative report."

Oscars 2022 recap: 'CODA' wins best picture, Will Smith and Jessica Chastain take acting honors

Oscar winners 2022: Who won at the Academy Awards? See the full list

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Did Will Smith really smack Chris Rock at the Oscars?