It didn’t take long for the internet to take a wild moment from last night’s Oscars and turn it into the latest meme.
On Sunday at the 94th annual Academy Awards, attendees and viewers were silent after an altercation between comedian Chris Rock and Oscar-winner Will Smith happened live on stage.
Chris commented about Smith’s wife, Jada, starring in the next G.I Jane movie – due to her lack of hair that compared to the look of the character. Jada has been open about her medical struggle with Alopecia, and neither she nor her husband found the joke funny.
Will immediately went on the stage, hit Chris in the face, and returned to his seat, yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”
“Oh wow. Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me,” Chris said as Will walked back to his seat.
Will Smith hitting Chris Rock turned into the latest meme
The show went on, and so did the internet’s confusion. Although many were unsure if the moment was real or scripted at first, it was still an opportunity for people to create the newest internet meme. Even though there were many other memorable moments from the ceremony, it’s safe to say the unforgettable slap from last night’s Oscars has taken social media the most by storm.
Some people made entirely new storylines of the altercation.
Others compared Will’s smack to Monday’s effect after the weekend. “Thank you Will Smith for giving us this wonderful March 2022 meme,” one Twitter user said.
Today, a popular “text meme” is from Dean Martin’s hit song, That’s Amore. The song features the lyrics, “When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that’s amore.”
Many have also put their own animation into the big moment to make it seem like Will is doing something completely different.
And lastly, we can’t forget all of the memes relating the memorable moment to Will’s hit television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The theme song, which includes the line “I got in one little fight,” was destined to be featured in many memes.
“I got in one little fight and my mom got scared, she said ‘You can’t slap Chris Rock because your wife has no hair,'” one meme said.
Other celebrities created new memes from Will/Chris moment
Will Smith and Chris Rock weren’t the only people featured in the internet’s latest memes. Other attendees of last night’s Academy Awards were just as stunned as the viewers at home – except their reactions were televised live.
Nicole Kidman has officially moved on from her “clapping” meme at the 2017 Oscars to a new “Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and yelling at the comedian from his seat” reaction meme.
“A NEW MEME IS BORN,” Twitter user @Mauli_adam wrote about Kidman’s relatable facial expression.
Along with Nicole Kidman, other actors’ stunned reactions were also captured at the live event. Lupita Nyong’o, who landed herself a seat directly behind the Smiths, couldn’t help but put her shock on display.
“LUPITA’S REACTION BEHIND WILL SMITH IS DEFINITELY ABOUT TO BECOME A MEME HAHAHA #AcademyAwards,” on Twitter used posted.
Others related Nyongo’s reaction back to the Oscars with the joke – “Congratulations to Lupita Nyong’o for winning best actress in a supporting role for ‘The Slap.'”
Despite all of the chaos that happened at this year’s 94th annual Academy Awards, it’s safe to say the internet definitely got some new bait to hold it over – until the next meme-worthy moment.