Oscar winners-Jessica,Will and CODA made history but Will Smith slapped Chris Rock

Jessica Chastain finally won her first Best Actress trophy and CODA made history as the first ever streaming film to earn Best Picture but Will Smith’s victory being marred after a physical altercation with Chris Rock will no doubt be the most talked about moment of The Oscars.

Smith had tearfully apologized as he won Best Actor after an ugly physical row with Chris Rock over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

The 53-year-old actor earned the honor for his work as father of Venus and Serena Williams in King Richard just minutes after the awkward altercation in which he appeared to strike the 57-year-old comedian with an open hand.

Signature moment: Jessica Chastain finally won her first Best Actress trophy for The Eyes Of Tammy Faye

Will Smith hits at Chris Rock as Rock spoke on stage during the 94th Academy Awards in Hollywood

He beat out Javier Bardem – Being the Ricardos, Benedict Cumberbatch – The Power of the Dog, Andrew Garfield – tick, tick… BOOM!, and Denzel Washington – The Tragedy of Macbeth

Accepting the award, Smith issued an apology for his emotional outburst, saying: ‘I want to apologize to the Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment.’

The slapping incident occurred after Rock cracked jokes about the haircut of Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The shocking scene, broadcast live around the world, appeared genuine and stunned both the live audience at the Dolby Theatre and TV viewers.

After Smith strode out on stage and appeared to strike Rock with an open right hand, Rock staggered and exclaimed ‘wow, Will Smith just smacked the s**t out of me.’

Smith, visibly emotional, walked back to his seat in the audience and shouted: ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth.’

The exchange was muted on a delayed telecast in much of the US, but was aired in full to some international audiences.

Smith, who is nominated in the best actor category, appeared to take offence to a gag Rock made about Pinkett Smith’s short haircut.

Referring to Pinkett Smith’s buzzcut, Rock said: ‘Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2’, prompting the actress to roll her eyes. Pinkett Smith has been grappling with hair loss since revealing her alopecia diagnosis in 2018.

After being slapped, Rock appeared shocked and flustered as he tried to resume presenting the best documentary feature category.

He remarked: ‘That was the greatest night in the history of television.

The film which Smith won for is a look at how tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams became who they are after the coaching from their father Richard Williams.

Earned it: The 45-year-old veteran actress earned the honor over Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter, Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers, Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos, and Kristen Stewart – Spencer

Shortly after, Jessica Chastain finally earned her first Academy Award in the Best Actress category for her work in The Eyes Of Tammy Faye.

The 45-year-old veteran actress earned the honor over Olivia Colman – The Lost Daughter, Penélope Cruz – Parallel Mothers, Nicole Kidman – Being the Ricardos, and Kristen Stewart – Spencer.

The biographical film she starred in was an intimate look at the extraordinary rise, fall and redemption of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker as she played the titular role.

The talented actress – who underwent a major transformation to become American televangelist Tammy Faye Messner – talked about the real life Tammy Faye’s impact on the LGBTQ+ community as she addressed Florida’s controversial ‘Don’t say gay bill’ in her acceptance speech.

She said: ‘We’re faced with discriminatory and bigoted legislation that is sweeping our country with the only goal of further dividing us. There’s violence and hate crimes being perpetuated on innocent civilians all over the world. And in times like this, I think of Tammy and I’m inspired by her radical acts of love.

‘We’ve talked about love a lot. And I’m inspired by her compassion, and I see it as a guiding principle that leads us forward. And it connects us all in the desire that we want to be accepted for who we are, accepted for who we love, and to live a life without the fear of violence or terror. And for any of you out there who do in fact feel hopeless or alone, I just not you to know you are unconditionally loved for the uniqueness that is you.’

Perhaps the most surprising moment of all came during the announcement of the biggest prize of the night at the end of the event as Coda upset heavy favorite The Power Of The Dog for Best Picture.

Coda – which also won all three awards it was nominated for – also made history as it became the first ever film from a streaming service to win the highest honor which was a massive win for AppleTV+.

It beat out a very impressive field including: Belfast (Focus Features), Don’t Look Up (Netflix), Drive My Car (Janus Films/Sideshow), Dune (Warner Bros), King Richard (Warner Bros), Licorice Pizza (MGM/United Artists Releasing), Nightmare Alley (Searchlight Pictures), The Power Of The Dog (Netflix), and West Side Story  (20th Century Studios).

The film is centered around a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults) named Ruby (played by Emilia Jones) who is the only hearing person in her deaf family. When the family’s fishing business is threatened, Ruby finds herself torn between pursuing her love of music by wanting to go to Berklee College of Music and her fear of abandoning her parents.

 It was a major night for the movie as it earned all three of the categories it was nominated as the drama also won Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay.

 Troy Kotsur became the first ever male actor to earn an acting Oscar 35 years after his co-star Marlee Matlin made history as she became the first ever deaf actress to win an Oscar in 1987.

The 53-year-old Mesa, Arizona native earned Best Supporting Actor for his role in Coda at the 94th annual Academy Awards on Sunday night as he became the first ever male actor to win an Oscar.

He beat out heavy competition including: Ciaran Hinds – Belfast , Jesse Plemons – The Power Of The Dog, J.K Simmons – Being The Ricardos, and Kodi Smitt-McPhee – The Power Of The Dog.

The talented actor was obviously emotional as he began his acceptance speech saying via translator: ‘This is amazing to be here on this journey. I cannot believe I’m here. Thank you so much to all the members of the academy for recognizing my work. It’s really amazing that our film Coda Has reached out worldwide.’

He told a hilarious joke about visiting the White House and meeting US President Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden and wanting to teach him ‘dirty sign language’ before his castmate Marlee stopped him.

The most poignant moment came when the veteran actor dedicated the win to his father.

He said: ‘My dad, he was the best signer in our family. But he was in a car accident and he became paralyzed from the neck down. And he no longer was able to sign. Dad, I learned so much from you I’ll always love you. You are my hero.’

Kotsur also said that his win was a win for the deaf and disabled community before thanking the rest of his family.

He concluded:  ‘I just wanted to say that this is dedicated to the deaf community, the C.O.D.A. Community and the disabled community. This is our moment. To my mom, my dad, and my brother mark. They’re not here today, but look at me now, I did it. I love you. Thank you.’

 His co-star in the film Marlee Matlin became the first deaf actor – male or female – nominee and winner in 1987 for her work in Children Of A Lesser God.

Later on in the evening Sian Heder earned Best Adapted screenplay for the film as she won over Drive My Car (Ryusuke Hamaguchi & Takamasa Oe), Dune (Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts & Denis Villeneuve), The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal), and The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion)

The 44-year-old American filmmaker – who also directed the film – said during her acceptance speech: ‘I want to thank all of my collaborators in the deaf community and CODA community for being my teachers.’

As if that already wasn’t enough milestones in the night, Jane Campion became the third woman to earn Best Director.

The 67-year-old filmmaker was recognized for her work at the helm of The Power Of The Dog during the star studded 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night.

She beat out: Kenneth Branagh – Belfast, Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi – Drive My Car, and Steven Spielberg – West Side Story.