Well, the Oscars happened last night. It was an eventful evening, that’s for sure. Kelly Slater, Shaun White, and Tony Hawk were there, and there wasn’t anything else at all that happened that was more interesting. Definitely nothing else of note happened, except for one moment in particular that could be considered “of note” in certain circles.
The GOAT trio was at the Oscars to help pay tribute to James Bond, likely in an attempt to attract more viewers who might not have tuned in otherwise. Last year was a famously bad one, ratings-wise, for the Oscars, so bringing in a few people from outside the Hollywood circle might have been a way to spread the word a little more. Here’s their speech. Short, sweet, and to the point, much like Will Smith’s slap heard ’round the world.
Later on that night, of course, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock across the face on live television, then shouted at him to “keep my wife’s name outcha f*ckin’ mouth.” The moment came after Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s struggles with alopecia. Then, in a staggeringly awkward turn of events, Will Smith won his first Oscar for King Richard and made a speech. In his speech, he said he wanted to be a “vessel for love,” which seemed a little odd considering what had just happened. Kelly Slater weighed in later on via Instagram stories.
One could argue that Will Smith’s slap probably increased interest in the Oscars even more than having three of the most famous action sports personalities in the world on stage, but we’re not entirely positive about that.*
*We are positive. It did.
