Late Night Hosts Unpack Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars: ‘Nobody Lifted a Finger! Spider-Man Was There!’

variety.com:

J. Kim Murphy On Monday evening, late night television dug into Will Smith’s controversial night at the Academy Awards, discussing the moment when the actor walked onto the ceremony stage to slap Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.The incident between Smith and Rock stunned audiences, both inside the Dolby Theatre and watching from home, as it was not immediately clear whether the interaction was a staged part of the show or a genuine byproduct of a disagreement between the two.“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”, which airs on ABC, the same network that broadcasts the Oscars, wasted no time before diving into the event that cast a shadow over the evening, beginning Kimmel’s monologue by showing footage of Smith slapping Rock.

The program also used broadcast footage of Smith’s subsequent acceptance speech for best actor and a video of the actor celebrating his win at an afterparty later during the evening. “It’s now a part of our lives forever.

We will never stop talking about this,” Kimmel stated. “Even Kanye [West] was like, ‘You went on stage and did what at an awards show?'”Kimmel also took space to praise Rock’s handling of the situation, expressing awe over the comedian’s ability to roll into presenting the best documentary feature award.“Chris Rock handled it about as well as you could possibly handle being slapped on stage at the Oscars.

He didn’t even flinch… I would’ve been crying so hard,” Kimmel joked. “No one did anything. Nobody lifted a finger. Spider-Man was there.