Here’s What Happened Backstage at Oscars 2022 Right After Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock

A new report has revealed details about what happened backstage at the 2022 Oscars in the moments immediately following “the slap” from Will Smith.

Will got up on stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock in the face after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith‘s bald head.

It sounds like everyone who was backstage at the show was just as stunned as the rest of the world, but then they had to go into work mode and figure out how to handle the situation.

The Hollywood Reporter has revealed new details about what happened backstage, including how Will‘s publicist Meredith O’Sullivan Wasson was involved in the aftermath.

“Everyone was like, ‘What the f–k is happening?! Did that just happen?! Oh my God!’ People were gasping,” a source who was backstage told THR.

Lots of celebs were in the green room to prepare for being on stage, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Zoe Kravitz, Kevin Costner, and even the Williams sisters. While most presenters go back to the green room after presenting, it is being reported that Chris never returned to the green room.

Will‘s publicist Meredith was among the PR reps who were stationed backstage and Chris‘ manager Jason Weinberg was also there. It’s reported that he “sat stunned, and then was asked to go speak with the Los Angeles Police Department.”

During the commercial break, Meredith went into a private room with Academy CEO Dawn Hudson, president David Rubin, and a press spokesperson for the Academy. Sources said they looked “as serious as could be” and “walked very, very fast” into the private room.

THR‘s Scott Feinberg reports, “Hudson and Rubin never returned to their seats in the audience, and Wasson spent the next several commercial breaks commuting between the backstage area and Smith’s seat, where she conferred with him as he held on to a hand of Pinkett Smith, who seemed to be speaking with a representative of her own.”

Read the apology that Will just issued publicly for Chris.