Will Smith’s memoir surges on bestseller lists after Oscars slap incident involving Chris Rock

Will Smith’s memoir Will climbed the bestseller charts in the week after the slapgate incident, according to a report.

There seems to have been major repercussions following what transpired between actor Will Smith and Chris Rock on the Oscar stage during the live event last month. Smith had to face major backlash from netizens online after he slapped comedian Chris Rock for joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. However, Will Smith’s memoir Will climbed the bestseller charts in the week after the slapgate incident, according to a report.

Will, which released last year, returned to USA Today’s list of Top 150 Best Selling Books, at the No 73 spot, its third-best week in sales, according to a Forbes report. The report also stated that the memoir jumped on the Combined Print & E-Book Nonfiction New York Times bestseller list, from no 14 to no 2, in the chart that compiled data from the week ending on April 2.

Chris Rock was one of the presenters at the 94th Academy Awards. While presenting an award, he joked about Will Smith's wife and said she looked like GI Jane 2. Will Smith lost his cool, got up on the stage and smacked him. He then took his seat and yelled at Chris, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***** mouth."

Following the infamous incident on the Oscar stage, Will Smith resigned from Hollywood's Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week and said that he would accept whatever consequences the group decided were appropriate. Possible actions could include making Smith ineligible for future awards or banning him from future Oscars ceremonies.