It should have been a turning point in the history of the Academy Awards - a celebration of diversity in the movie world's biggest night, with the first male deaf actor and first openly queer woman of colour to win an Oscar, topping a long list of firsts.
The institution that has repeatedly coming under fire for a lack of diversity in its list of nominations, had this year voted for winners that broke records across gender, disability and culture.
These included, CODA - a film that has a cast of largely deaf actors, clinching all three of its nominations including the night's big prize, best picture. Deaf actor Troy Katsur won the prize for best supporting actor for his role, as Frank Rossi, while Ariana DeBose was the first openly queer woman of colour to win an acting Oscar for her role in West Side Story.
Riz Ahmed also became the first Muslim person to win an Oscar for a live action short film - and New Zealand's own Jane Campion, the first to be nominated twice for best director, took home a prize for her Gothic Western, The Power of the Dog.
But the day after, it's not their wins that everyone is talking about. Instead Will Smith and the "slap" that rocked the world is the topic of the day.
Smith then yelled swear words at the comedian after retaking his seat. (Source: 1News)
The actor taking to the stage, as the whole world watched, to deliver a resounding slap to comedian Chris Rock. The outburst was triggered by a joke that made comparisons between the actor's wife's baldness and that of G.I. Jane, a bald female action character in a 1997 film starring Demi Moore.
Jada Pinkett Smith's condition is a result of alopecia - a condition characterised by hair loss. Her struggles with the condition something she's opened out about on social media before.
Kiwi Comedienne and actress Penny Ashton says while the joke was in poor taste, the level of violence took her aback, and it was disappointing to see it detract from the true winners of the night.
"Two men behaving badly have become the focus, all this d**k swinging around on stage has taken away from the historic win of Jane Campion, first woman to ever be nominated twice," she says. "We have [Troy Katsur] winning best supporting actor, who was amazing. We have the first openly queer woman of colour [to win an Oscar] and we are not talking about any of that."
READ MORE: Alopecia explained after Will Smith Chris Rock incident
American entertainment anchor for KTLA Sam Rubin was at the awards ceremony. "It was the most extraordinairy thing," he recalls. "The air literally left the room, the show effectively ended with that slap it just derailed everything.
"We should be talking about CODA, we should be talking about Jessica Chastain. We are not talking about any of that... it's what must be described as an extraordinarily selfish act."
The evening should have been Will Smith's moment to shine too - the actor winning his first Oscar for his role in King Richard. Only the fifth black man in nearly a century of the Academy Awards. Instead, the actor taking to Facebook today with a public apology, to the organisers of the awards and Chris Rock.
"Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive... my behaviour at last night's awards was unacceptable and inexcusable," Smith said.
White Ribbon manager Rob McCann says while he didn't want to pass judgement on the actor it was disappointing to see this happen, especially on the global stage.
"It's disappointing someone in Will Smith's position in life, with the opportunity he has to better himself, behaves in that manner. Because it sends a clear message that's how we behave when we are angry to all the other men who are watching."
He hopes lessons can be learnt from this: "We need to look at how male masculinity plays out, how healthy masculinity looks like, how we can process these emotions, and change what masculinity looks like to a huge chunk of our population."
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