Chris Rock's controversial joke at Oscars 'was not in original script'

Chris Rock controversial joke directed at Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith during the 94th Annual Academy Awards was not planned as it was not a part of the original script for the show.

Rob Mills, ABC Unscripted chief, revealed that the G.I. Jane joke was an ad-lib which the comedian came up with during the ceremony.

Mills was present in the Oscars production trailer with show’s producers and director Glenn Weiss when the dramatic incident occurred on the stage of the prestigious ceremony.

“Chris Rock came on and he was doing, I think, material based on what happened that night as any comedian will do,” Mills said in an interview to Variety.

He added, “He made the (G.I. Jane) joke. Obviously, you could see the joke did not land with Jada. And then you see Will start to get up and walk up.”

“There have certainly been unpredictable moments where people have gotten up and done things, so we thought this was one of those,” Mills further stated. “The 'G.I. Jane' quip was an ad-lib not in the script.”

“You started to realise this is real once Chris, who certainly knows the limits of broadcast standards, said, ‘Will Smith slapped the shit out of me,’” he concluded. “That’s when it became obvious that this was not a joke.”