A year to remember. As 2022 comes to a close, Us Weekly is reflecting on the biggest events of the last 365 days — and these scandals will stay with Us long after the ball drops.
Among the first massive scandals of the year is one everyone is still talking about: The Slap. It was March 27, and it appeared the Oscars would be another forgettable prom night for Hollywood — until Chris Rock presented best documentary.
The Madagascar star was presenting when he cracked a joke about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, starring in G.I. Jane 2, a reference to her bald head. (The actress has been open about suffering from alopecia.) The Emancipation star then stormed the stage and hit Rock, before returning to his seat and yelling for him to “keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”
Shortly after, Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in King Richard.
The following day, Smith issued a public apology for his “unacceptable and inexcusable” actions. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. Smith later resigned from the Academy and was barred from participating in all Oscars-related events, including next year’s ceremony, for 10 years.
He went on to apologize to Rock again in a July YouTube video, adding that while he has tried to get in contact with the stand-up star, “the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk. And when he is, he will reach out.”
Smith continued, “So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk. … I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s—t.”
For his part, Rock has only addressed the scandal in his stand-up shows. “Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face,” Rock joked during a stand-up performance in Holmdel, New Jersey, on July 24, an eyewitness told Us exclusively. “I’m not a victim, mother–ker,” he later added. “Yeah, that sh-t hurt, motherf–ker. But I shook that sh-t off and went to work the next day … I don’t go to the hospital for a papercut.”
The scandal will likely be discussed further in 2023 as Rock’s live Netflix special, titled Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, debuts one week before the next Oscars ceremony.
That won’t be the only scandal that carries over to 2023. GMA3 anchors T.J. Holmes and Amy Robach‘s alleged affair still has fans buzzing even amid their absence from the airwaves. The TV personalities, who are married to other people, are expected to return to ABC in early 2023 after the network completes an internal review of their workplace romance.
While not every scandal will have ramifications that go into 2023, the others were just as unforgettable. From prison sentences to cheating drama, scroll down to relive all the biggest scandals of 2022: