Los Angeles: American actor Will Smith punched comedian Chris Rock after he got miffed at the latter's joke directed at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith during the 94th Academy Awards.
After slapping Rock, Smith walked back and used expletives, saying: "Keep my wife's name out of your *** mouth".
As per Variety, Rock appeared on stage to present the Oscar for documentary feature and he then made a joke about Jada-Pinkett Smith (Will Smith's wife) being in 'G.I. Jane' because of her shaved bald head.
Initially, Smith was laughing but Jada clearly looked affected by the joke. Smith then took to the stage to punch Rock.
Many in the ceremony looked stunned by the altercation. Diddy, who was the next presenter addressed the situation by saying: "Will and Chris, we're going to solve that like family. Right now we're moving on with love. Everybody make some nose."
Last year, Jada Pinkett Smith had announced that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia.
Smith ended his dry run at the Oscars as he lifted the best actor trophy for 'King Richard'.
The actor referenced the incident in his emotional acceptance speech, summing it up as "love will make you do crazy things".
"I'm being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people... You got to be able to take abuse, you got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you got to be able to have people disrespecting you and you got to smile and you got pretend like that's okay.
Thank you Denzel (Washington), who said to me a few minutes ago... he said, 'at your highest moment, be careful, that's when the devil comes for you.'
The actor thanked tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams for trusting him with the story of their father.
"I just hope they didn't see that on TV. I want to say thank you to Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family for trusting me with your story. That's what I want to do. I want to be an ambassador of that kind of love and care and concern. I want to apologise to the academy. I want to apologise to my all 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," the actor said by way of explaining his anger at Rock, who had also mocked Pinkett-Smith in his 2016 Oscars monologue as a host.
It was third time lucky for the 53-year-old star who was previously nominated in the same category twice -- 'Ali' and 'The Pursuit of Happyness' -- but couldn't go all the way.
The 94th Academy Awards are being held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood and the ceremony is being hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes. The nominations for the Oscars were announced on February 8 this year by actors Tracee Ellis Ross and Leslie Jordan.
