THE SQUIZ
American broadcaster ABC has long wondered how to make the Academy Awards compulsory viewing like it was in years gone by. But a mid-ceremony meltdown where the man who goes on to win Best Actor angrily slaps one of the most famous comedians in the world probably wasn’t on their list…

WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT?
Comedian Chris Rock was on stage to present the award for Best Documentary Feature. Before getting to it, he was stirring up the laughs with a few jokes at the guests’ expense when he got to Jada Pinkett Smith, an actress/singer/wife of Will Smith. “Jada, I love ya. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.” It was a reference to her shaved head – a look perfected by the OG Demi Moore. Note: Pinkett Smith has alopecia, an auto-immune condition that causes hair loss. Smith initially laughed at the quip, but as you can see, things turned sour – like milk in the blazing sun kinda curdled. A little later, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. It’s a movie about Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Serena and Venus, who was “a fierce defender of his family,” Smith said. He apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees – but not to Rock, with whom he has a history. ​​“Love will make you do crazy things,” he said. The comedian told police he didn’t want to press charges against Smith.

WHO WON?
Look, we’re no fight adjudicators… Oh, you mean the Oscars? There was no single runaway winner. CODA became the first movie made by a streaming service (Apple TV+) to win Best Picture – it’s the “big-hearted crowd-pleaser about a hearing teenager balancing her dreams, her high school crush and her love for her deaf family”. Further to that, Troy Kotsur won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance, becoming the first deaf man to win an Oscar. Kiwi Director Jane Campion took out Best Director for Power of the Dog – a film about, ahem, toxic masculinity… She became the 3rd woman to win the coveted award. For Jessica Chastain, it was 3rd time lucky – she picked up the Best Actress gong for her turn as disgraced evangelist Tammy Faye Bakker. Who won the doco award after all of that? Musical genius Questlove for Summer of Soul. And who won the red carpet? The colour red…