It's safe to say you'd never seen one tuxedoed Oscar attendee strike another live during the ceremony before. But during Sunday night's 2022 Academy Awards, that's exactly what happened.

Comedian Chris Rock was on stage joking about Jada Pinkett Smith, who currently has short hair as a result of alopecia, and said, "Jada, I love you.

GI Jane 2, can't wait to see you." Then, Pinkett Smith's husband, actor Will Smith, walked up on stage and appeared to hit Rock in the face.

While the sound quickly got shut off on the US telecast, Australian and Japanese viewers heard Smith tell Rock twice, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth!"

LA Times writer Amy Kaufman explained on Twitter what may have caused Smith's anger, writing, "Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith being in 'G.I. Jane' because of her bald head.

The New York Times critic Wesley Morris wrote in the paper's live online Oscar blog, "Chris Rock was presenting the documentary Oscar and made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's amazing, tight haircut and it looked like Will Smith walked up and punched him, or tried to, and then berated Rock from his seat. It was like Smith punched the audio out, too."

Videos captured in other countries show Rock laughing after being hit and saying, "Will Smith just smacked the shit out of me," and Smith yelling back from his chair, "Keep my wife's name out of your fucking mouth."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The plot thickened later, when Smith won the best actor Oscar for his role as Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.

Click here for OSCARs Winners 2022