Will Smith Appeared to Laugh at Chris Rock Joke Before Hitting Comedian

Multiple videos posted to social media claim to show that Will Smith appeared to laugh at Chris Rock's joke about Jada Pinkett Smith before going on stage and slapping the comedian during the Oscars on Sunday night.

In a video posted to Twitter by Jomboy Media, a user who is known for analyzing sports videos, Smith appears to laugh at the joke just moments before walking on stage and slapping Rock. The narrator of the video replays the incident several times and points out Smith's initial reaction to the joke before he hit Rock.

While speaking to the crowd before presenting an award, Rock made a joke about Pinkett Smith's shaved head, which is due to her experience with alopecia.

"Jada, I love you. G.I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it," Rock said, as the star of G.I. Jane, Demi Moore had a shaved head in the movie.

Shortly after making the joke, the camera pans to Smith and his wife, with Smith appearing to laugh at the remark. As the camera shows Smith appearing to laugh at the joke, Pinkett Smith is seen rolling her eyes as she sits next to her husband. While the video footage appears to show Smith laughing at the joke, it is unclear if he immediately understood what Rock was speaking about.

Just moments after appearing to laugh at the joke, Smith can be seen walking up on stage and slapping Rock, prompting the comedian to say "Wow. Will Smith just smacked the s*** out of me."

In several videos of the incident, after slapping Rock, Smith can be heard saying from the crowd, "Keep my wife's name out your f****** mouth!"

In addition to Jomboy Media, several other Twitter users also posted videos from the Oscar telecast showing how Smith appeared to laugh at the joke before slapping Rock.

"You can't laugh at the joke and then slap a man for it??? Will smith is gone man loool," Twitter user Hereforrants wrote.

Twitter user Nalini, a journalist for India Today wrote, "What Will Smith did was completely unacceptable. Seconds before thinking it's ok to assault Chris Rock, he laughed at the joke himself (though his wife was visibly upset)! Kudos to Chris Rock for handling it in a dignified manner and ensuring that the show goes on!"

Twitter user Rita Panahi also shared a similar video of the incident and wrote, "In the full version you can see Will Smith laugh at the GI Jane joke but Jada certainly ain't laughing. Seconds later Will is on his feet and slapping a man on stage. Tad unhinged."

Following the slap, Smith received the Oscar for Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams, the father of tennis stars, Serena and Venus Williams in the movie, King Richard.

During his award acceptance speech, Smith said, "I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment, and I'm not crying for winning an award."

Newsweek reached out to representatives for both Smith and Rock for comment but did not immediately receive a response.