Sci-fi epic Dune and Apple TV+’s CODA were among the big winners in an Academy Awards more notable for the antics of its’ A-listers than the contents of its envelopes.
The 94th Academy Awards, already hampered by a troubled production process, ended with shocked silence last night as Best Actor nominee Will Smith appeared to strike comedian Chris Rock during the presentation of Best Documentary Feature.
Hosted by Wanda Sykes, Regina Hall and Amy Schumer, the first half of the ceremony went by largely without incident, with pre-recorded presentations of eight categories inserted alongside the live announcements resulting in a slightly rushed, but largely predictable Oscars.
The evening quickly nosedived during the presentation of Best Documentary Feature, however, when Will Smith took to the stage following a joke about his wife’s (Jada Pinkett-Smith) shaved head (Pinkett-Smith has previously spoken publicly about her diagnosis with the hair-loss condition Alopecia).
While ABC quickly cut the live feed to the US, international audiences saw Smith strike Rock and return to his seat, shouting “Keep my wife’s name out of your… mouth.” The Sky broadcast in the UK cut out a few moments later, during Questlove’s acceptance speech for his documentary Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised).
Smith then went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in King Richard, and used his acceptance speech to apologise to the Academy and his fellow nominees, though not to Chris Rock. By then, however, the atmosphere in the room had largely evaporated, and despite some heroic attempts to lighten the mood by host Amy Schumer, the final hour of the ceremony remained a somewhat muted affair.
The awards themselves were less unexpected, with Denis Villeneuve’s Dune taking home six trophies, while Siân Heder’s CODA won all three of the categories it was nominated in, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for Troy Kotsur. But all that is likely to be forgotten in a ceremony likely to be forever known as ‘the one where Will Smith punched Chris Rock.’
For a full list of the winners and nominees, click here.
Words by James Harvey
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