Ill Smith’s infamous Oscar slap has been revealed as the most popular YouTube video of the year in the UK.
The clip, shared by Guardian News, has been viewed more than 103 million times and shows the uncensored version of the moment the Hollywood actor stormed the stage and punched comedian Chris Rock after making a joke about Smith’s wife.
The 1 minute and 23 second video, which has 1.5 million likes on YouTube, shows the moments before Rock makes a joke about the actress Jada Pinkett Smith and her shaved head due to her medical condition, alopecia, at the Academy Award ceremony in March.
Her husband is then seen storming onto the stage where he punches the comedian in the face, to which a shocked Rock addresses the audience, saying “Will Smith just beat the s*** out of me”.
Smith returns to his seat and is then heard yelling, “keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth” at Rock, as stunned members of the audience watch.
The video quickly went viral at the time, making headlines around the world as actors, celebrities and even politicians took to social media to praise or condemn the incident.
Smith was subsequently banned from all Academy events or programs for 10 years after his “unprecedented” behavior at the 94th Academy Awards and two days after the blow, he publicly apologized to Rock and the Oscars’ production team.
The categories in the top trending lists are curated by the YouTube Culture and Trends team and include: the UK’s Top Trending Videos of 2022, the UK’s Top Shorts of 2022, Top Creators of 2022 and Top Breakout Creators of 2022.
The findings are based on a range of factors, in addition to views, that indicate how “trending” a video is by taking into account engagement and signals such as the number of shares and likes.
The second most popular video of the year is the Sidemen charity football game, which was broadcast live on September 24 and has been viewed over 27 million times.
The three-hour video was posted on the Sidemen YouTube channel, which was formed by a group of British YouTubers and led by boxer, musician and social media personality KSI, who produces videos of various challenges, skits and video game commentaries.
The video shows the full match between Sidemen FC and rivals YouTube Allstars as they took part in the 2022 charity match at The Valley, Charlton and raised over £1million for the charity.
The game coverage, which has garnered over 1.1 million likes, included a performance by electronic music duo Chase & Status, eventually finishing 8-7 in favor of the Sidemen on two late goals.
Storm Eunice also appeared in this year’s list of trending videos with Big Jet TV’s commentary on jets attempting to land on the Heathrow rankings at number seven, just above the livestream close of the Johnny Dep and Amber Heard defamation lawsuit.
The nine-hour video, posted by YouTube channel Law&Crime Network, has been viewed more than 24 million times and was followed live as jurors reached a verdict in the Hollywood actor’s multimillion-dollar US lawsuit against ex wife Amber Heard.
After six weeks of evidence and around 13 hours of deliberation, the jurors ruled in Mr Depp’s favour, awarding the actor $10 million (£8 million) in damages and a further five million dollars (£4 million) as punishment. injury.
Meanwhile, American YouTuber MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, has been named the best creator for 2022, followed by Sidemen’s channel in second place.
In July, MrBeast, who makes videos with huge giveaways and prizes, reached 100 million subscribers and became the most subscribed YouTuber on the website.
MrBeast’s videos challenge large groups of people to take part in extreme challenges for a chance to win the grand prize, including a video of him gifting one of the winners with their own private island.
British prankster Jamie Nyland, who has 6.2 million subscribers, has been crowned the UK’s top breakout creator.
Brothers Nicolas, Matthew and Christopher, known as the Sturniolo Triplets, took second place for their laid-back car vlogs that have amassed over 3 million subscribers this year.
Jen Jamie, Director of Communications, YouTube UK said: “Every year the YouTube End-of-Year Top lists give us a valuable insight into what people in the UK have been most curious about.
“YouTube is the place where everyone comes to see what is happening and happening in the world while participating in and impacting contemporary culture.
“Whether it’s the creators of Shorts thrilling millions, or events like the Sidemen charity football match, 2022 has been an important year for all of us and we can’t wait to see what the next year brings to the table.” has in store for us.”