Will Smith ‘was still mad’ at Chris Rock’s 2016 joke about wife Jada when he slapped comic in the face at Oscars

WILL Smith was reportedly "still mad" about Chris Rock's 2016 dig at his wife Jada when he slapped the comic at the Oscars.

Six years ago, the comedian, 57, took aim at Jada, 50, in his opening monologue for boycotting the Oscars due to a lack of diversity.

Chris suggested in his speech at the time that Jada couldn't snub the Oscars that year because she hadn't been invited in the first place.

He said: "What happened this year? Spike went mad. Jada got mad. Will got mad. Everybody got mad."

He went on: "Jada got mad? Jada says she's not coming. Protesting. Isn't she on a TV show? Jada's going to boycott the Oscars?

“Jada boycotting the Oscars is like me boycotting Rihanna’s panties. I wasn’t invited.”

A source told "When Chris hosted the Oscars in 2016, Jada was boycotting because of 'Oscars So White.'

"In his monologue, he made fun of her, saying she can't boycott something she wasn't invited to. Will was still mad about that."

On Sunday night, , 53, shocked audience members and viewers when he slapped Chris onstage for making another joke about Jada.

The standup comic referenced Jada's shaved head as he said: "Jada, I love you, G. I. Jane 2, can't wait to see it."

Demi Moore famously shaved her head for her role in the 1997 movie.

Jada, on the contrary, has been struggling with hair loss for years due to alopecia and decided to shave it all off last year.

Will then stormed the stage and hit the presenter in what at first seemed like a stage bit.

He then walked back to his seat as a stunned Chris said: "Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me."

SHOCKING SLAP

Will yelled at the comedian: "Leave my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth."

Chris looked visibly shaken and said: "Wow, dude, it was a G.I. Jane joke," to which Will repeated, "Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth!"

Chris said, "I'm going to, okay?" before adding, "That was the ... greatest night in the history of television."

He went on to present the award for Best Documentary.

TENSIONS RUNNING HIGH

During the commercial break, Will reportedly was pulled aside and comforted by Sean Combs and Tyler Perry.

The Men In Black actor seemed to wipe tears from his eyes, as his fellow actors urged him to brush it off.

Later in the evening Will accepted the Best Actor gong for his role as Richard Williams in King Richard.

He was slammed for not apologizing for the slap and defending the act instead, calling himself a "fierce defender" of his family.

"Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Will, 53, began his speech.

He later added: "I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment, and I'm not crying for winning an award..."

"Love will make you do crazy things" Will said as he broke down in tears during his speech.

The star concluded by saying he hopes "the academy invites me back."

FAN BACKLASH

However, the A-lister failed to mention Chris at all, which led many angry fans to react on Twitter and rip Will.

One wrote: "Sorry, Will Smith’s acceptance speech is not an excuse for his actions."

Another said: "In Will Smith's speech he says he's been called to love people. Yes, by teaching them to turn the other cheek…after punching them in the face."

More reactions rolled in as one chimed in: "During his extremely long acceptance speech, Will Smith never apologized to Chris Rock for hitting him."

In 2018, Jade opened up about her "issues with hair loss" during an episode of her Facebook Watch show Red Table Talk.

She explained: "It was terrifying when it first started. I was in the shower one day and had just handfuls of hair in my hands and I was just like, 'Oh my god, am I going bald?'

"It was one of those times in my life where I was literally shaking in fear. That's why I cut my hair, and why I continue to cut it..."