Oscars 2022 recap: 'CODA' wins best picture, Will Smith wins best actor

The actress won the best actress award for her performance in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.”

This is her third Oscar nomination and first win.

During her acceptance speech, she delivered a powerful message about suicide awareness and discriminatory legislation. “Right now we are coming out of some difficult times that have been filled with a lot of trauma and isolation,” she began. “And so many people out there feel hopelessness and they feel alone. And suicide is a leading cause of death in the United States.”

She then went on to say suicide has touched many families, including her own, and many within the LGBTQ+ community.

“We’re faced with discriminatory and bigoted legislation that is sweeping our country with the only goal of further dividing us,” she said. “There’s violence and hate crimes being perpetuated on innocent civilians all over the world. And in times like this, I think of Tammy and I’m inspired by her radical acts of love.”

She then said that she sees Tammy’s compassion as a “guiding principle that leads us forward” and “connects us all in the desire that we want to be accepted for who we are, accepted for who we love, and to live a life without the fear of violence or terror.”

She concluded her speech with a plea to those who feel “hopeless or alone.”

“I just want you to know you are unconditionally loved for the uniqueness that is you,” she said.

Will Smith is an Academy Award winner for his performance in “King Richard.”

“In this time in my life, in this moment, I am overwhelmed by what god is calling on me to do and be in this world,” said Smith, who played Richard Williams, the father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, in the film.

“Art imitates life, I look like the crazy father just like they said,” he continued, referencing a seemingly heated confrontation he had with comedian Chris Rock. “Love will make you do crazy things.”

Earlier in the show, the actor left many speechless after a seemingly heated moment on stage between comedian Rock.

Rock, who was presenting the award for best documentary feature, first addressed a few nominees of the evening including Javier Bardem and his wife, Penelope Cruz, then mentioned Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

“Javier Bardem and his wife are both nominated,” Rock said. “Now, if she loses, he can’t win. He is praying that Will Smith wins, like, please lord, Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it, alright?”

Viewers were left stunned when Smith took the stage and appeared to strike Rock after the comedian’s remark. Many took to social media to question if the moment was rehearsed or a genuine reaction from Smith.

While presenting later in the night, Sean “Diddy” Combs mentioned the moment, stating “Will and Chris, we’re going to solve that like family ... But right now we’re moving on with love.”

Smith was then shown in the crowd laughing at Combs’ comments.

“I want to apologize to the Academy,” Smith said about the moment on stage. “I want to apologize to my fellow nominees.”

Jane Campion won the Academy Award for best director for “The Power of the Dog,” becoming just the third woman to win the trophy.

The New Zealand-born filmmaker, 67, follows in the footsteps of Kathryn Bigelow’s win for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010 and Chloé Zhao’s win for “Nomadland” in 2021. Only seven women have ever been nominated for best director in Oscars history.

Campion, who was previously nominated for her 1994 film “The Piano,” beat out fellow nominees Paul Thomas Anderson (“Licorice Pizza”), Kenneth Branagh (“Belfast”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”) and Steven Spielberg (“West Side Story”).

During her acceptance speech, Campion said, “I love directing because it’s a deep dive into story yet the task of creating a world can be overwhelming.”

“On ‘The Power of the Dog,’ I worked with actors I’m moved to call my friends. They met the challenge of the story with the depth of their gifts.”

-ABC News’ Carson Blackwelder

Billie Eilish is now an Academy Award winner.

The 20-year-old singer-songwriter and her brother Finneas won the Oscar for best original song for “No Time to Die,” the theme song they wrote and recorded for the 25th James Bond film. This is the first Oscar nomination and win for both Billie and Finneas.

During their acceptance speech, Billie shared, “Oh, my gosh. This is so unbelievable, I could scream. Thank you to our 007 family,” while Finneas added, “we want to thank our parents who have always been our biggest inspirations and our heroes, and we love you as parents we love you as real people too.”

At the time that Oscar nominations were announced, the creative duo released a statement on “how honored and excited” they were to receive recognition from the Academy. “It was a lifelong dream of ours to write a Bond theme, and one we never thought would ever come true,” their statement read. “It’s completely unbelievable that we are here being recognized for this song, and this is a peak life experience for us as songwriters and artists.”

While this is Billie’s first Oscar win, she notably swept the Grammys in 2020 when she won the awards for best new artist, song of the year, record of the year and album of the year. She has seven Grammy Awards under her belt, while Finneas has eight.

-ABC News’ Hayley Fitzpatrick