"Venus and Serena Williams don't deserve to have their dad dragged into whatever this was" - Tennis fans unhappy with Will Smith's controversial Oscar speech

Will Smith had a night to remember at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday. The actor bagged his first ever Oscar for his portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams' father Richard Williams in King Richard.

But his win was overshadowed by a shocking incident. A few minutes before winning the Oscar for his memorable performance in the biopic, the 53-year-old landed in hot water for slapping fellow actor and comedian Chris Rock in full public view.

Smith took matters into his own hands after Rock made a rather unsavory joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor's wife who suffers from Alopecia -- a health condition that leads to involuntary hair loss. Although the American later "apologized" to the Academy for the incident, it did not sit kindly with tennis fans on social media.

They took particular offense to Will Smith's acceptance speech after the win, where he implied that his actions were the result of "love" and even suggested that they were similar to what Richard Williams did to protect his own family.

In addition to calling the American out for resorting to physical violence, users on Twitter expressed their displeasure at the way he tried to justify his behaviour.

"Disgusted that Will Smith used Richard Williams to try & justify his actions. Disgusted," one fan wrote.

"Comparing you assaulting someone because he made a joke about your wife to the struggles Richard Williams went through raising his children in Compton is the new definition of idiot privilege," another fan tweeted.

"I think Richard Williams should be given a chance to portray Will Smith, beat the shit out of Chris Rock, and win an Oscar of his own. It’s only fair," one user joked.

""I look like the crazy father, Just like they said about Richard Williams" - Will Smith. Champions Venus and Serena Williams honestly don't deserved to have their dad dragged into whatever this was," another user wrote.

Many fans were of the opinion that Will Smith's actions ruined what should have been an extraordinary moment for Venus and Serena Williams. Several blamed the actor for selfishly making the night all about himself instead of what it should have been about all along -- a tribute to Richard Williams.

"Staged or not, Will Smith's ruined this night for the Williams sisters and that is REALLY unfair. Instead of talking about the film & Richard Williams everyone is talking about Will Smith & Chris Rock. That is really selfish and nothing can excuse it," one account tweeted.

"I just feel awful, foremost, for the Williams family, who put so much into making this movie the best it could be, and didn’t do anything to deserve how this night imploded," Racquet Magazine Senior Editor Ben Rothenberg tweeted.

"Between Jane Campion's "Venus and Serena Williams, you don’t play against the men” speech and Will Smith's “Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family” Oscar speech justifying his assault, no one has been through it more than the Williams sisters this awards season," another account wrote.

Will Smith's win marked the only Academy Award for King Richard, a movie produced by Venus and Serena Williams

Venus and Serena Williams could collect only one Academy Award as Executive Producers

King Richard had six Oscar nominations, but barring Will Smith, none of the others managed to bear fruit for Venus Williams and Serena Williams, who were present in their capacity as Executive Producers.

In the Best Picture category, the film lost to CODA. Aunjanue Ellis, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of the sisters' mother Oracene Price, missed out on the award to Ariana DeBose (West Side Story).

Beyonce's 'Be Alive' lost in the Best Original Song category to Billie Eilish's 'No Time To Die'. In the technical department, Zach Baylin did not stand a chance against Kenneth Brannagh (Belfast) for Best Original Screenplay whereas Pamela Martin was second-best to Joe Walker (Dune) in the category of Best Film Editing.

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