• The incident happened on live television.
  
• Actor Chris Rock had made a joke about Will Smith's wife; Jada Smith suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss, so she has extremely short hair. Chris Rock joked about her appearing in the next G.I. Jane (a movie in which Demi Moore shaved her head).
  
• Why It Matters: Will Smith won his first Academy Award, which he received for best actor in a leading role — but the night was arguably overshadowed by his earlier actions. He apologized to the Academy (but not to Chris Rock) and said, "I’m being called on in my life to love people and to protect people and to be a river to my people."
  
• Meanwhile, here's an interesting tidbit from the AP on ratings overall: While drops have been common to all major network award shows, last year’s show attracted only about 10 million viewers, less than half of the 23.6 million the year before. A decade ago, it was closer to 40 million.

Will Smith appeared to strike Chris Rock on Oscars telecast (the video of the incident is included).