At the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Chris Rock was presenting Best Documentary Feature when he made a joke comparing Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head to G.I. Jane. Pinkett Smith has alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss, and has spoken publicly about it. Will Smith walked onstage, slapped Rock, returned to his seat and shouted profanities at him from the audience as the theater went silent.

During the commercial break that followed, Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and Bradley Cooper went to Smith's side, and Washington later said that he and Perry prayed with him. Later that night Smith won Best Actor for playing Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard. In his acceptance speech he apologized to the Academy and his fellow nominees and repeated the advice Washington had given him: "At your highest moment, be careful. That's when the devil comes for you." He…