Will Smith’s Slap Helps Oscars Reach Higher Ratings but Emerges Second-Lowest in the Show’s History

• The unpredictable Will Smith slap incident has a significant effect on the viewership of the 2022 Oscar awards as a lot of people tuned in during the show
• The unexpected moment made more than 15.6 million people tune in to the Oscars awards taking it a notch higher than the 2021 disappointing numbers
• The COVID-19 pandemic made last year's event a record low but it hasn't rebounded well as expected

Actor Will Smith's slap on the face of comedian Chris Rock saved the Oscars from recording a very low viewership as it looked like the show can't boast of the viewers' appeal it once had.

The incident alone made more than 15.4 million people tune in to the show to take it up to 56% from the 2021 Academy awards, just to emerge as the second-lowest in the history of the awards.

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Chris Rock’s comedy tour ticket prices and sales skyrocket after slap incident with Will Smith

All of the winners and losers from the 2022 Oscars were overshadowed by best actor winner, Will Smith and his encounter with Chris Rock.

Just a few moments before accepting his win, the actor took the stage to slap Chris Rock who made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

According to Daily Mail, because the 2021 edition of the awards happened during the COVID-19, only 9.85 million people viewed it. That led to several changes in the Oscars going into this year, including the addition of hosts and awarding eight categories ahead of the live broadcast to flesh the main show.

Even though the new changes seemed to work, an audience of 15 million is still way too low compared to the 23.6 million people who watched the Oscars in 2020.

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Nigerians feel Chris Rock doesn't deserve the Oscar slap from Will Smith, some are indifferent about it

Chris Rock vs Will Smith: Nigerians share their opinion

In a related development, Legit.ng reported that the hilarious slapping moment at the 2022 Oscars awards dominated the mainstream entertainment gist all over the world

Different opinions emanated about it and Nigerians were not left behind in sharing what they feel about the historical moment

Legit.ng conducted a social media poll to know if Will Smith was right to slap Chris Rock and it was a close result from the Legit.ng readers.

Source: Legit.ng