Jimmy Kimmel Breaks Down Will Smith's Oscars Slap, Praises Chris Rock for How He Handled It

Jimmy Kimmel, a former Oscars host, is weighing in on the crazy moment between Will Smith and Chris Rock at last night’s show.

The 54-year-old late night host talked about the bizarre moment during a segment on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Monday night (March 28).

“It’s now a part of our life forever, we will never stop talking about this,” he said. “It was so shocking. The only thing I can really compare it to is when Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ears. Even Kanye was like, ‘you went on stage and did what at the award show?’.”

Jimmy had a lot more to say about the moment.

Click inside to find out what he said…

He added that the “weirdest part was that initially Will Smith laughed” at the joke Chris made about Jada.

“But then he must have looked over and saw that Jada was not amused and is like, ‘uh oh, I better do something. And boy did he do something,” Jimmy added. “In one stunning moment, the guy went from #Oscarssowhat to #Oscarssowhaaaat?!?!?! No one could have predicted the most controversial movie of 2022 would be G.I. Jane, but it was. This was the Hollywood version of your drunk uncle starting a fight, ruining the wedding and then standing up and giving a long toast to the bride and groom.”

Jimmy noted that he initially thought the moment was staged and the punch “looked so real.”

“Chris Rock handled it as well as he could possibly handle being slapped on stage at the Oscars. He didn’t even flinch when Will slapped him. I would have been crying so hard,” he added.

Jimmy also brought up how no one in the audience, including all of the actors who play superheroes, did anything to help the situation.

“No one did anything. Nobody lifted a finger. Spider-Man was there. Aquaman was there. Catwoman, all sitting on their hands. Nobody helped Chris Rock,” he said.

You can watch the full monologue below!

A new report has revealed what happened backstage after that controversial moment.