By now, you’ve surely seen the video from last night’s Oscars ceremony where actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock across the face. To say that the clip has gone viral would be an understatement, as it has instead become a topic that virtually everyone in the world is fixated on. So much so, in fact, that the video involving both Smith and Rock has gone on to break a record on YouTube that was previously held by MrBeast.
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Late last year, YouTube star MrBeast released a new video that created a real-world version of Netflix’s popular show Squid Game. The video went on to become so popular that it shattered some notable YouTube viewership records. Specifically, MrBeast’s Squid Game video was able to accrue nearly 43 million views in a period of only 24-hours. And while this viewership total is still greatly impressive in its own right, Smith’s shot to Rock has now surpassed it.
In a period of less than one day, The Guardian’s upload of Smith slapping Rock has already garnered a staggering 56 million views at the time of this writing. The video has been #1 on YouTube’s trending page since the moment occurred late last night, and in all likelihood, it won’t be surpassed in the near future. What’s even more bewildering is that The Guardian’s upload of the video is only one of a multitude that have landed on YouTube, which means that the number of people who have seen this clip surely total in the hundreds of millions.
The one major caveat with this YouTube viewership achievement is that it only holds true when not accounting for music videos, movie trailers, and other promotional videos like this. As such, Smith’s slap heard around the world might not technically be the most-watched video ever in a single day on YouTube. And when it comes to content creators who are developing their own original videos, MrBeast still owns the record with his Squid Game video. Still, for this Oscars moment to have already gained this many views on YouTube just goes to show you how big this whole situation has really become.
[H/T Dexerto]
