Will Smith crashed the Oscar stage on Sunday night in a shocking moment as he slapped Chris Rock.
MORE: Serena and Venus Williams steal the show at the Oscars in daring gowns
Chris appeared on stage to present Best Documentary and mocked Jada Pinkett Smith's new look, joking: "Jada, love you, GI Jane 2, can't wait to see it!" He was referencing her shaved head which comes as she battles with alopecia.
WATCH: Will Smith assaults Chris Rock at 2022 Oscars
But as Chris went to continue his speech, Will stormed the stage and slapped Chris with the sound being picked up on his mic.
As Chris tried to continue talking, ABC cut the sound but the mics were still live, and other territories aired the scene, with Chris trying to diffuse the situation by calling out "it was a GI Jane joke".
EXCLUSIVE: Paloma Garcia-Lee gets Oscars ready with HFM
MORE: 17 of the most expensive red carpet jewelry looks of all time
The camera froze but then turned back on and was focused on Will who was screaming at Chris: "Shut your mouth, keep my wife's name out of your [expletive] mouth."
"I am going to," replied a clearly rattled Chris.
Will screamed at Chris from the stage
Those inside the room said that there was awkward laughter when Will first walked on the stage to slap Chris, but once he returned to his seat and began screaming, "the room fell dead silent."
"During this break, Denzel [Washington] pulled Will aside to talk to him and they walk away from their seats together. Denzel now has his arm around Jada and is kneeling next to her even though the show has started," shared one reporter.
Denzel and Tyler Perry were seen comforting Will during the break
Moments later, Will was named the winner of Best Actor and during a tearful acceptance speech he apologized to the Academy and to his fellow nominees.
Viewers at home were torn over the moment, with One Tree Hill star Sophia Bush tweeting: "Violence isn’'t ok. Assault is never the answer. Also? This is the 2nd time that Chris has made fun of Jada on the #Oscars stage, & tonight he went after her alopecia.
"Punching down at someone's auto-immune disease is wrong. Doing so on purpose is cruel. They both need a breather."
Director Judd Apatow was more direct, however, tweeting: "He could have killed him. That's pure out-of-control rage and violence. They’ve heard a million jokes about them in the last three decades. They are not freshman in the world of Hollywood and comedy. He lost his mind."
Read more HELLO! US stories here
Like this story? Sign up to our HELLO! newsletters to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.
