It was a bit of that testy humour, delivered by comedian Chris Rock and found offensive by actor Will Smith, that led to Sunday night’s biggest moment — a nominated actor slapping a presenter in the face in anger on live national television.
The unprecedented physical altercation upstaged the final half hour of the show and will certainly go down as one of the most memorable moments in Oscar history.
It also is sure to thrust the Oscars, facing steadily sagging TV viewership in recent years, back in the cultural conversation, though probably not in the way organisers imagined.
The surreal confrontation was sparked when Smith, a best-actor nominee, took umbrage at Rock for making a crack about his wife’s closely shaven hair as the comedian was about to present the award for best documentary.
Smith suddenly strode onto the stage and slapped Rock hard across the face with his open hand. The actor then turned and took his seat again beside his spouse, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from a hair loss condition called alopecia.
Smith then repeatedly shouted a vulgarity at Rock in defence of his wife.
Rock, visibly stunned but maintaining his composure, acknowledged he had just been smacked by Smith and jokingly said the incident made for the “greatest night in the history of television”.
It certainly overshadowed the evening.
Seeking to lighten the mood moments, co-host Amy Schumer, emerged back on stage from a previous gag to feign ignorance of the whole affair: “Did I miss anything? There seems to be a different vibe in here.”
Veteran actor Anthony Hopkins made mention of the episode before presenting the best-actress award, saying, “Well, what an evening,” adding, “Will Smith said it all.”
Smith had more to say as he took the stage again as winner of the best-actor award for portraying Richard Williams, the father and coach of tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams in the biopic King Richard.
A tearful Smith apologised to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and fellow nominees during his acceptance speech, in which he started off saying, “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family.”
He left the stage to a standing ovation, after telling the crowd, “I hope the academy invites me back.”
Returning to its home venue at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, the telecast sought to recapture much of the customary glitz and live entertainment that went missing when Covid-19 forced the scaled-down 2021 event into a rail station.
In addition to Beyonce’s appearance, Sunday’s show featured musical by such stars as Billie Eilish, Reba McEntire and the cast of the Oscar-winning best animated feature, Encanto.
After going for three years without a master of ceremonies, one notable upgrade to the Oscars was that it boasted three co-hosts — comic performers Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall — marking the first Oscar ceremony emceed by a trio of women.
 "Will Smith")