Serena Williams Films Her Hilarious Reaction To Will Smith's Oscars Outburst

Just about seemed to have a response to the Oscars confrontation between comedian Chris Rock and actor Will Smith, including tennis champion Serena Williams. Williams was in attendance due to the film "King Richard," which is base on her life and was nominated for six Academy Awards. Starring Smith in the lead role, the 2021 movie featured the real-life story of tennis superstars and sisters, Serena and Venus Williams, as they rose to fame while being coached by their ambitious father, Richard Williams.

Not long before Smith won the best actor award for his leading role in the film, he walked onstage and slapped Rock across the face after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. While many viewers initially believed the encounter was staged, according to Newsweek, Smith has since issued a public apology on Instagram, writing, "I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." 

The New York Times also reports the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences met on March 28, 2022, to discuss the consequences of the incident and announced that they'd begun a formal review. While many celebrities weighed in with their opinion of the incident, Serena Williams shared her own just minutes after it occurred. 

Serena Williams posted her reaction to the Will Smith and Chris Rock confrontation on her Instagram Stories soon after it occurred on March 27, 2022 (via the Daily Mail). The video shows Williams staring open-mouthed in shock at the camera for several seconds before transitioning to another clip of her in the darkened theater where applause from the ongoing ceremony can be heard in the background. "I just sat down, because I was like, I gotta put that drink down," Williams said in the social media clip before giving several side eyes to those around her. 

When "King Richard" was first released, Williams praised Smith's performance as her father. "It really is super surreal for me and then to have Will play this role as my father and the way he embodied Richard Williams, it took the film to a whole other level," she told Digital Spy. "It's so emotional, it's well done and it's a brilliant piece of work."

In his acceptance speech for best actor, Smith said, "Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family," and subsequently apologized to the Academy. "I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees," he added, per the BBC.