The infamous slap made headlines after the 2022 Oscars that saw Will Smith storm the stage live and slap presenter Chris Rock across the face over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Even though many might think Will Smith would want to try and move the narrative needle away from the infamous 2022 Oscars slap that stunned the nation almost as much as it did Chris Rock, he appeared to revisit the moment in a recent freestyle rap.
The Bad Boys star recently dropped by British DJ Charlie Sloth’s Fire in the Booth — a showcase for rappers to show off their lyrical creativity by dropping improvised freestyle raps — and he definitely went there.
It came when he hit the second verse, with Smith rapping, “I’m not the type of man to move in malicious ways / and I am too grown to play childish games / If you talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage.”
He went on to add, “Jokers dish it out, cry foul when it’s time to take it / City full of real ones, wasn’t raised to fake it.”
While Smith didn’t specifically say Rock’s name or detail what came to be known as “the slap” in the decidedly NSFW clip, it certainly seems to be a reference to the moment that at least temporarily derailed the leading man’s career, leading to an apology, an Oscars ban, and him stepping back temporarily.
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It’s also not the first time Smith has alluded to the shocking event in recent months. His March 2025 album release Based on a True Story, also features lines that appear to reference it, including the opening track where Smith raps, “Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talkin’ bout? / You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.”
The triggering moment came during the 2022 ceremony with Smith sitting close to the front of the stage after his performance in the 2021 film King Richard. Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, was by his side as Rock was introducing the Best Documentary category.
During his introductory moments, Rock appeared to make a quick aside when he spotted Pinkett-Smith in the audience. “Jada, I love you,” he said. “G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya.”
G.I. Jane was a 1997 film starring Demi Moore, with her shaved head one of its most talked about elements at the time. Pinkett-Smith was confidently bald-headed at the 2022 Oscars, four years after she had opened up about living with alopecia.
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Following the joke, Smith got out of his seat and walked up to the stage, where he abruptly slapped Rock hard across the face before returning to his seat and shouting repeatedly, “Keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth!”
“Will Smith just smacked the s–t out of me,” Rock declared, leaving shocked fans uncertain if this was some kind of comedy bit. It wasn’t.
In the weeks that followed, Smith made a public apology for his actions without mentioning Rock, while the standup comic talked about the incident in his shows. Pinkett-Smith said she felt there could be a connection to her 2016 boycott of the Oscars amid the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, when Rock was hosting the ceremony.
Ultimately, Smith resigned from the Academy and was hit with a 10-year ban, meaning he cannot attend any Academy-related events, virtually or in real-life, for the duration. His work can still be nominated.
