Will Smith shared a 6-minute video answering questions about 'The Slap'. Here's what we learned.

To, uh, state the obvious... something unexpected happened at the Oscars this year.

ICYMI: Halfway through the ceremony, Chris Rock came on stage to present the Oscar for Best Documentary. 

He made a few gags and then said to Jada Pinkett Smith, who was sitting in the front row with her husband Will Smith, "Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see you." 

Watch the moment it went down here. Post continues below. 

It was a reference to the 1997 film starring Demi Moore, whose character had a shaved head. The joke by Rock was undoubtedly poking fun at Pinkett Smith, who currently has a shaved head as she's been struggling with the auto-immune disease alopecia, which causes severe hair loss. 

Will Smith then walked up onto the stage, struck Rock in the face, and then sat back down. He then yelled out to Rock, "Keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth." Twice. 

Rock then said: "Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me. It was a G.I. Jane joke. That was the greatest night in the history of television."

Initially, both the Oscars' audience and people watching on from home were confused. Was it a publicity stunt? A joke? But it quickly became apparent that it was not a 'bit'.

Here's everything that has happened since.

Will Smith has broken his silence on the slap after months. 

Will Smith shared a video to his YouTube channel overnight where he addressed a list of questions from the public on the moment he slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards.

"Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work," Smith said.

"You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer."

In the first question, Smith explained why he didn't apologise to Rock in his acceptance speech.

"I was fogged out by that point. It’s all fuzzy," Smith said.

"I’ve reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out.

"I will say to you Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.

"I want to apologise to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview that Chris’s mother did, and you know, that was one of the things about that moment, I just didn’t realise, I wasn’t thinking how many people got hurt in that moment. So I want to apologise to Chris’s mother, to his family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship, and this is probably irreparable."

"Will was with his family and seemed pretty nonchalant about what happened," a source told E! News. 

"He was celebrating his wins. He was in a good mood dancing and having fun. He was chatting with his kids and laughing. They were all acting like nothing had happened."

Smith was also filmed rapping along to his songs 'Gettin' Jiggy Wit It' and 'Miami' while waving his Oscar in the air.

Sykes went on to explain that she wasn't impressed with the Academy for allowing Smith to go back to his seat after the slap - and then be allowed to accept the award for Best Actor minutes later. 

"I was like, 'How gross is this?' This is just the wrong message. If you assault somebody, you get escorted out of the building and that's it, but for them to let him continue, I thought it was gross."

Sykes then joked that when Smith won Best Actor, she wanted to run out and say, "Uh, unfortunately Will couldn't be here tonight."

There have been several media reports that Sykes was Rock's "wing woman" during the aftermath of the slap and at Guy Oseary's after party event. 

While at the after party, Sykes says Rock came up to her and apologised, which left her confused, saying in reply: "Why are you apologising?"

Sykes said Rock told her it was "supposed to be" her night: "You, and Amy and Regina, y'all were doing such a great job. I'm so sorry this is now going to be about this."

Listen to The Spill. Post continues after audio.

Fellow Oscars host and comedian Amy Schumer also shared on Instagram that she too felt "triggered and traumatised" over the incident.

She said: "I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend and the whole thing was so disturbing."

Chris Rock publicly speaks for the first time since the Oscars.

Speaking to the audience at his sold-out comedy show in Boston a week after the Oscars, Rock said he is "still processing" exactly what happened on the Oscars stage.

When he began his comedy show, he asked the crowd: "Sooooo, how was your weekend?" And that was met with a long-standing ovation from the audience. It was then that Rock became quite teary. 

"Let me be all misty and s**t. I don't have a bunch of s**t to say about that, so if you came here for that... I had written a whole show before this weekend.

"I'm still processing what happened, so at some point I'll talk about that s**t. It'll be serious. It'll be funny, but right now I'm going to tell some jokes."

And we went on with the show. 

Will Smith resigns from the Academy.

On April 2, Will Smith resigned from the motion picture academy saying he will accept any further punishment the Academy deems necessary.

In a statement to People, Smith said: "I have directly responded to the Academy's disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. 

"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. 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. I betrayed the trust of the Academy.

"I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.

"I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film, so, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate." 

David Rubin, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, has also issued a statement.

"We have received and accepted Mr Will Smith's immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences," Rubin said. 

"We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18."

Denzel Washington responds: "Who are we to condemn?"

The actor was one of the first to speak to Smith after the Oscar slap and has since spoken out about the incident. 

While at a Leadership Summit in Washington D.C., Washington provided some context behind Smith's decision to assault Rock. 

"There’s a saying when the devil ignores you, then you know you’re doing something wrong," he said. "The devil goes, 'Oh, no, leave him alone, he’s my favorite.' Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe it’s because he’s trying to do something right. And for whatever reason, the devil got a hold of him that night."

Washington revealed he prayed over Smith on Oscar night. 

"Fortunately there were people there, not just me but others. Tyler Perry, came immediately right over there with me," he explained. "Some prayers. I don’t wanna say what we talked about. But there but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn? 

"I don’t know all the ins and outs of this situation, but I know the only solution was prayer. The way I saw it. The way I see it."

This article was originally published on March 29, 2022, and was updated on July 30, 2022.

Feature Image: Getty.