Ben Shephard returned to Good Morning Britain on Thursday for the first time since the Oscars fallout. Talk still continues to surround Will Smith and Chris Rock following their altercation at the 94th Academy Awards over the weekend.
The Fresh Prince and Men In Black actor took to the stage and struck comedian Rock across the face after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, which appeared to be about her hair loss after previously speaking about her struggles with alopecia. Rock said: "Jada, can’t wait for GI Jane 2," prompting the actress to roll her eyes.
Smith was soon seen walking up on stage and appeared to hit Rock in the face in front of the star-studded audience at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles where the awards were being held on Sunday night. He then returned to his seat before shouting twice: "Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth," as a flustered Rock tried to resume presenting the best documentary feature category.
Rock has now spoken out on the debacle during his latest stand-up show. The 57-year-old said he is "still processing" his altercation with Will Smith at the Oscars but will talk about it "at some point". He referenced the incident at a stand-up show and promised that when he did comment officially it would be "serious and funny".
It comes as the Academy, who has launched a formal review into the incident, revealed that Smith was asked to leave the 94th annual awards ceremony after the incident, but refused. The organisation said the best actor winner’s actions were "shocking" and "traumatic" to witness live on television as it apologised to Rock, praising his "resilience in that moment".
On Good Morning Britain on Thursday, Ben, co-host Susanna Reid and their guests once again discussed the scenes that unfolded as well as the latest updates. They also spoke about what Oscars co-host Amy Schumer said afterwards in since-deleted comments, claiming she felt 'traumatised'.
"I watch it and it still triggers me in some way," Ben said before explaining what he meant. "Just in terms of trying to understand what happened. There were young people, there were young actors like Jude Hill from Belfast, 11-year-old, was in the audience. There were children in the audience."
When one of the show's guests joked that it was past the young actor's bedtime, Ben, who is a father of two boys, responded: "Yes, but he was part of a nominated film, that’s why he was there."
But GMB viewers were left complaining due to the continued coverage around the Oscars saga.
@wine_oasis tweeted: "#GMB still covering Will Smith/Chris Rock why?"
"#GMB Will Smith and Chris Rock again? Of do f*** off," @BoyCharioteer commented.
@BrianDarqknite fumed: "I don't think I've heard something so pathetic as @Benshepard saying he gets triggered seeing the Will Smith slap. Here's a simple solution, don't watch it. #GMB."
"#GMB Here we go again @GMB going to drag out the Will Smith story," @Kellyfree12 shared.
@SmokeyToes76 added: "Are we still talking about Will Smith?? #GMB," @SmokeyToes76 added alongside a GIF which read 'boring'.
