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Oscars Ratings Spiked by Half a Million After Will Smith’s Slap

But this year’s show was still the second-lowest in history.

The 2022 Oscars saw its ratings jump by nearly a million people just after the slap heard around the world, according to data released by Nielsen Tuesday. Around 16.8 million people were watching the ceremony before Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at 10:27 p.m., after which ratings shot up to 17.4 million for the hour that followed. It was not the highest viewed moment of the show, however; that came when CODA actor Troy Kotsur took home the award for Best Supporting Actor, a moment 17.7 million people saw. The chaotic award show overall saw 16.6 million viewers, a dramatic 58 percent uptick from the 2021 ceremony’s 10.5 million viewers—but it was still the second-lowest in Oscars history. The result is nevertheless impressive due to the nature of this year’s production. The Academy received some backlash in how it put together the 2022 show, including the pre-taping of eight award categories to save time, only for the show to run longer than in 2021.