There was no way Saturday Night Live wasn't going to satirize the infamous Oscars incident. On Saturday night's new episode, hosted by Jerrod Carmichael, one particular sketch was devoted to the slap heard 'round the world when Will Smith smacked Chris Rock over a Jada Pinkett Smith joke. The SNL skit, which you can watch below, imagines what that must have been like to see for Smith's seat filler, who thinks he's having the best night of his life... at first. Watch the skit below, courtesy of SNL on YouTube.
Excited to see Smith, the seat filler makes small talk with the actor and goes to take a selfie when the Jada joke could be heard, prompting Smith to leave his seat and head toward the stage. After the slap, Smith casually returns to his seat like nothing happened, smiling and carrying on his conversation with the seat filler. Although, he does take a couple of pauses to angrily scream at Rock about the Jada joke, similar to what everyone saw on television. Beyond that, he's very kind to the seat filler, but the vibe has clearly changed, as Smith is now very intimidating.
When another seat filler comes to his nearby seat from a bathroom break, he realizes what he's missed after checking why Smith is trending on Twitter. Smith continues to cheerfully interact with them, but both are so frightened of getting attacked they can barely speak. It culminates with Smith's song "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" starting to play as the seat filler's ringtone, prompting the actor to get up and dance along, a reference to the King Richard star dancing to his own music at an Oscars afterparty following the slapping incident.
The clear joke of the SNL gag is how casual Will Smith was about attacking Chris Rock. This could be alluding to the criticism over Smith enjoying the rest of the show and even accepting his Best Lead Actor award later that night and delivering a passionate, heartfelt speech complete with a standing ovation. Many say Smith should have been forcibly removed from the ceremony if not arrested, even if Rock declined to press charges.
Will Smith's Career Has Taken a Hit Because of the Oscars Incident
Will Smith has been facing some fallout from what happened at the Oscars. Planned movie projects featuring the actor, such as the sequel Bad Boys 4, have been put on pause indefinitely as this controversy plays out. It was also announced that the Academy was conducting a formal review which could have resulted in suspension or expulsion for Smith, but the actor has gone ahead and announced his resignation.
"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," Smith said in his resignation letter. "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home."
He added, "I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”