The Oscars championed the average over the excellent

For a number of years now, as the streaming revolution ramps up and our watching habits become ever more fragmented, the Oscars have been locked in a desperate struggle against plummeting viewing figures and waning public interest. This is obviously a situation that Will Smith wanted to try and remedy – and not simply by winning the Best Actor award for his work in a classic all-American story of triumph over adversity. His fierce portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams’ maniacally driven father in King Richard was deservedly popular yet incredibly, less than half an hour prior to picking up this gong, Smith had climbed impromptu onto the stage at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angles to sock presenter Chris Rock squarely in the face.

‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f*king mouth’, he said, twice, after Rock made a rather off-colour joke referencing Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia. The clip of this will be watched by millions more viewers than the Oscars themselves and the debates around it will rumble on endlessly.