How Diddy Tried to Be a Peacemaker After Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock

The incident occurred during Sunday's Oscars.

Diddy knew what he wanted to accomplish when he took the stage at the 2022 Academy Awards on Sunday. The 52-year-old rapper was a presenter at the ceremony, and the first to follow Will Smith and Chris Rock's onstage incident.

A source tells ET that Diddy wanted to try to lighten the room when he was onstage and try to celebrate the awards. According to the source, he wanted to bring the moment back to the Oscars.

The source notes that Diddy wanted to try and be the peacemaker, adding that he spoke to Smith and Rock separately after the moment.

The incident occurred when Rock, a presenter at this year's ceremony, made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair. The actress has spoken publicly about having alopecia, a hair loss condition that she was diagnosed with in 2018.

Smith responded to the comment by coming onstage, slapping Rock, and yelling, "Leave my wife's name out of your f**king mouth." 

Smith went on to win the Best Actor Oscar for his role in King Richard. During his acceptance speech, Smith did not apologize to Rock, but instead offered apologies to only his peers and the Academy.

After the incident, Rock declined to press charges, the LAPD previously told ET. 

As for what the Academy thinks, on Sunday, they posted a statement to Twitter, which read, "The Academy does not condone violence of any form. Tonight we are delighted to celebrate our 94th Academy Awards winners, who deserve this moment of recognition from their peers and movie lovers around the world."

The following day, the Academy launched a formal review into the incident.

"The Academy condemns the actions of Mr. Smith at last night's show," the statement read. "We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct and California law." 

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