Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars after joke about his wife

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( March 28, 2022 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Will Smith slaps Chris Rock at Oscars after Jada Pinkett Smith joke]( Actor Will Smith yelled at Chris Rock to "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" after slapping the comedian onstage at the Oscars award ceremony. In what is being described by some as the most shocking incident in Oscars history, Will Smith attacked Chris Rock after he poked fun as his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's appearance. "Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can't wait to see you," Chris Rock quipped in an apparent reference to the actor's shaved head. Ms Pinkett Smith announced last year that she shaved her head after struggling with alopecia. Will Smith proceeded to walk up on stage and hit the comedian. The incident came before Smith's win in the best actor category for his role in the film King Richard. During his speech, Smith tearfully apologised to the Academy and his fellow nominees.   2 / [Zelensky 'prepared to discuss neutral status' for Ukraine]( Putin is trying to 'create a North and South Korea in Ukraine', head of Ukrainian military intelligence said. 3 / [Essex: 1,500 deaths to be investigated at scandal-hit mental health trust]( Mental health services in Essex have been repeatedly criticised for 'systemic' failings 4 / [Poor pupils 'left behind' by new schools pan, ministers warned]( Experts say ministers' catch-up proposals will widen gaps between pupils 5 / [UK weather: Snow to follow sun as temperatures plummet by 10C]( The Met Office said the country will become colder, cloudier and more unsettled from Monday     The Big Question Who are Ukraine’s notorious neo-Nazi group the Azov Battalion? In justifying his invasion of Ukraine last month, Russian president Vladimir Putin told his citizens the war was a “special military operation” intended to “demilitarise and de-Nazify” the neighbouring state and to protect pro-Russia separatists in the east of the country from genocide. Accusing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, a Jew who lost family members in the Holocaust, of presiding over a “Nazi” government is an astonishing allegation and Ukraine was quick to file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice arguing that Mr Putin was misusing the word “genocide” – coined by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 with a view to prosecuting the atrocities of the Third Reich – as a bogus pretext for his attack, prompting agreement and swift condemnation. That said, it is also true that Ukraine is not entirely free from the stain of neo-Nazism. This is the story of the notorious Azov Battalion, who rose to prominence in the Donbas skirmishes of 2014 and have fought fiercely for the defence of Mariupol in the present conflict. [Read the full story >](   Watch/ [Russia shares aerial footage of airstrike on Ukrainian Buk missile system](   NUMBER OF THE DAY 25ft – The length of the famous fibreglass shark, sticking out of a roof in Headington, Oxford, that has just been granted heritage status, despite the property owner’s objections.   QUOTE OF THE DAY “I absolutely love Cornwall, it’s just the Cornish I can’t stand.” – Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay risks the wrath of Britain’s western-most county.   [Refugees Welcome](     Other stories you might like   ['There are times when I feel lonely': Elon Musk opens up in interview that touches on personal life](   [China splits Shanghai in half for two stage lockdown as Covid cases spike](   ['Shocking' and 'bonkers': Antarctica heat is a warning for higher food prices](       Articles available exclusively to subscribers Alice Murphy, The Independent: [Ireland has embraced Ukrainian refugees – why not do the same for everyone else?](   If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.