This past Sunday’s Academy Awards show had many people talking, but not due to praising this year’s winning films and their stars. Instead, people were in a frenzy after seeing Best Actor nominee and eventual winner Will Smith’s Oscars slap on Chris Rock.
Smith proceeded to smack Rock in the face following a joke the comedian made onstage during the ceremony involving Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her shaved head.
Following the televised incident, several of The Challenge stars reacted to what went down at the 94th Annual Academy Awards, including Amanda Garcia, Da’Vonne Rogers, and Wes Bergmann.
The Challenge stars react to Will Smith’s Oscars incident
Everyone seemed to have something to say about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during this year’s Oscars ceremony, including other actors, comedians, and even reality TV stars. Some of those stars have been involved in heated altercations of their own.
That includes two-time Challenge winner Weston Bergmann, who was nearly in fights during several of his seasons, including incidents with castmates Johnny Bananas, Chris “CT” Tamburello, and Darrell Taylor.
Wes brought up his longtime rival and friend on Total Madness, Johnny Bananas, suggesting he’s wanted to do the same thing to him for a decade.
Amanda Garcia seemed to fully support what Will did in defending his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s honor during the awards show.
“And STILL got his Oscar ! Let that be a lesson ladies and gents … in the words of Prophetess Mehgan James #Oscars,” Big Brother and The Challenge star Da’Vonne Rogers tweeted.
Spies, Lies & Allies star Josh Martinez shared a meme representing the audience at the Academy Awards following the incident.
In addition to the above Challenge stars, Nia Moore opened up about her physical altercations during The Real World: Portland, which impacted her life, mentioning she understood what Will must have been feeling after that infamous Oscars moment.
Will Smith issued apology after Oscars incident
The heated moment involving Will Smith and Chris Rock arrived this past Sunday as Rock was presenting an award onstage. The comedian cracked several jokes before the award presentation, including one directed at Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love. ‘G.I. Jane 2. Can’t wait to see it,'” Rock joked, causing many audience members to laugh, including Will Smith.
However, Jada seemed disgusted by it, which likely led to Will Smith sensing his wife’s outrage over the remark. From there, Smith walked up to Rock onstage and smacked him before returning to his seat.
“Wow. Will Smith just slapped the s**t out of me,” Rock commented in what viewers initially thought was a staged bit.
However, it turned out to be quite real, with Smith proceeding to yell from the crowd to Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.
The show eventually moved on, with Smith remaining in the audience and even taking the stage again to claim the Best Actor award for his work in King Richard.
During his teary-eyed acceptance speech, he seemed upset over what happened, apologizing to the Academy and others, but not Chris Rock. An apology to the comedian arrived a day later on Smith’s Instagram.
While the Academy originally issued a statement saying they don’t “condone any violence” during their awards show, it was reported that they were looking into the incident a day later. That could mean repercussions for Will Smith, with a possible suspension of his membership in the Academy.
The Challenge Season 38 is TBA on MTV. The Challenge: All Stars 3 premieres on May 11 on Paramount Plus.