5 times Will Smith lost his cool and got in trouble: before the Chris Rock slap at the Oscars, he hit a reporter on the red carpet and had ‘raging jealousy’ towards Jada Pinkett’s ex, Tupac Shakur

Mar 28 , 2022

After an epic night that capped his acting career with an Oscar and saw him hit Chris Rock onstage, we look back at other times actor Will Smith Smith found himself making the wrong sort of headlines. Photos: Reuters, AP, YouTube

While still one half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Smith spent a night in jail for an assault in 1989, then the following year had his car and house repossessed for tax evasion

He was jealous of Tupac Shakur being close to his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, criticised his Fresh Prince of Bel Air co-star and slapped a reporter at the Men in Black III Moscow premiere

The smack heard round the world. That’s what this year’s Academy Awards are likely to be remembered for, after Will Smith struck comedian Chris Rock in the face as he presented the award for best documentary feature.

Will Smith hit Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars. Photo: Reuters

The incident came after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, mocking her shaved head. Pinkett Smith, an actress and host of the award-winning talk show Red Table Talk, has publicly shared her struggles with alopecia, an autoimmune disorder that attacks hair cells. The tasteless jab was enough to cause Smith to march on stage and strike the chuckling comedian with an open hand, eliciting gasps from the audience.

It’s destined to become one of the most jaw-dropping moments in Oscars history with Rock himself joking, “That was the greatest night in the history of television!” moments after the altercation.

Smith, 53, is one of the world’s highest-paid actors and later won his first Oscar for his leading role in King Richard, a film about the father of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams. He took the opportunity during his acceptance speech to apologise for his earlier behaviour.

But it’s not the first time that the actor has found himself caught up in controversy. Here are some of Smith’s other surprising outbursts.

1. His 1989 arrest for assault

The cover of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s 1987 album “Rock The House”. Photo: Handout

Before he was a Hollywood star, Smith first achieved recognition as one half of the hip hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. In 1989, the musical act won their first Grammy. But just months later, Smith was arrested for his alleged involvement in an attack on record promoter William Hendricks that almost blinded the victim in one eye.