The Slap (2022)

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( Highs and Lows [The Highs, Lows, and Whoas of the Oscars]( In a year when the Oscars pitched themselves as a grand return to normalcy, Hollywood felt more unnatural than ever. Photo: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images This year, [the Oscars]( learned the dangers of trying to enter the speed force. The show, trimmed down for broadcast, started out eager to please and seem populist, stuffed with montage tributes to movies the Academy expected everyone to recognize and even selections from the Twitter-chosen “cheer moments” of the last year. It was already a ceremony that felt obligated to too many goals, but it came apart at the seams once, three quarters of the way through the event, [Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage]( after Rock delivered a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The telecast stalled and muted, and the audience in the theater seemed not to know how to react as the ceremony continued on to [Smith’s widely predicted win for Best Actor](. He delivered a rambling, tearful speech about protecting one’s family that contained a sort-of apology to the Academy, but it felt as if the ceremony had toppled off its axis, insignificant and chintzy in comparison to the unscripted altercation that just transpired. In a year when the Oscars pitched themselves as a grand return to normalcy, Hollywood felt more unnatural than ever. In order to try to make sense of the evening, we summarized the 2022 Oscar ceremony’s highs, lows, and numerous whoas. [Read The Story »]( Spring Sale: [Subscribe for 60% off]( and unlock unlimited access to Vulture and everything New York. The Latest TV Recaps • [Killing Eve:]( Carolyn’s Story • [Power Book IV: Force:]( Everyone Has a Proposition • [Outlander:]( Wolf’s Brother • [Billions:]( Dance With the Devil • [Winning Time:]( Classical Music vs. Jazz • [The Walking Dead:]( Gut Up • [Sanditon:]( An Officer and a Governess • [Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber:]( Here Comes a Regular [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like 1. [What I Saw Inside the Room When Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock “This is the most unhinged evening of our lives.”]( 2. [The Rediscovered Prescience of SpongeBob’s “Squirrel Jokes” Co-writer Walt Dohrn discusses the 2001 SpongeBob SquarePants episode that lives on in meme form.]( By Rebecca Alter 3. [How Blue Man Group Blew Up An oral history of the wildly successful show, starring strange bald men painted in Yves Klein blue.]( By Molly Langmuir 4. [Confederates Does Battle With Two Peculiar Institutions Toggling between the antebellum south and the academy today.]( By Helen Shaw [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( 5. [25 Notable New Releases Over the Next Two Weeks Moon Knight premieres, Red Hot Chili Peppers’ 12th album, the Station Eleven author’s new novel, and more.]( By Vulture Editors [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Today’s Crossword]( 7-Down, Five Letters: ‘Princess Mononoke’ setting. Photo-Illustration: Vulture Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. Watch [CODA, winner of best picture]( at this year’s Oscars. The film’s cast — including a superb Troy Kotsur and Marlee Matlin as Ruby’s complicated parents — bring real feeling to what could be a schmaltzy story. [Read more from Vulture]( This week at Union Hall Vulture’s weekly comedy show, Pretty Major, will feature Jordan Carlos, Janelle James, James Austin Johnson, Moss Perricone, Catherine Shannon, and Maddie Wiener. [Buy tickets here.]( Tuesdays at 7 p.m. Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY If you enjoyed reading Vulture’s daily newsletter, forward it to a friend. Or dive deeper into the Vulture universe with our other newsletters: • [1.5x Speed](: Podcast recommendations and listening notes from Nick Quah, sent every Wednesday. • [Buffering](: Joe Adalian reports on the streaming industry, sent every Thursday. • [The Housewives Institute Bulletin](: For dedicated students of the Reality TV Arts and Sciences, sent every other Friday. • [Vulture 10x10 Crossword](: A puzzle for pop-culture obsessives sent to your inbox every weekday. • [The Critics](: A weekly dispatch on the cultural discourse, sent Fridays. [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe](param=daily) | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2022, All rights reserved