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Daily Mirror
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Hana Carter

Ricky Gervais mocks claims that alopecia is a disability after Will Smith's Oscars slap

Ricky Gervais hits out at suggestions that alopecia is a disability and jokes that his hair is thinning after Chris Rock's Oscars joke.

The comedian, 60, who has already shared his thoughts on the moment that rocked the prestigious award ceremony, mocked those defending Will Smith's actions.

Sat in front of a shelving unit crammed full of golden awards and bottles of champagne, the comedian shared his thoughts on the controversial moment: "You don't hit someone over a joke, however bad it is and it wasn't bad. That was like the tamest joke I would have ever of told."

During the Twitter Q&A he said: "Someone said it was joking about her disability. Well, I'm going a bit thin so I'm disabled."

Ricky Gervais joked that he would change the name of his tour from Armageddon to Alopecia (Getty Images)

"That means that I can park right up next to Tescos now."

He added: "And I'm fat, so that's a disease. I'm fat and balding, I should get f****** benefits" he said before bursting out laughing."

Will, 53, stunned Hollywood after he marched up to Chris, 57, and slapped him after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's hair.

Jada, who suffers from alopecia which causes hair loss, rolled her eyes after Chris compared her to Demi Moore's GI Jane.

Will Smith stunned Hollywood after he slapped Chris Rock (AFP via Getty Images)

Last week Ricky performed in London and told the audience: "I’ll get it out of the way. I have not got any Will Smith material.

“I trended when that happened and I was not even there.

"What has it got to do with me? People were going 'What would have happened if Ricky Gervais had been doing it (hosting Oscars)?'

Chris had made a joke about Jada's shaved head (REUTERS)

"Well, nothing as I would not have made a joke about his wife's hair. I would have made a joke about her boyfriend."

In June 2020 singer August, 29, said he had been having an affair with Jada, which the actress later confirmed - saying that they were in an "entanglement".

He also joked that he may change the name of his comedy tour: "This new material is going to be for my new show called Armageddon. I might change that to Alopecia."

Will got emotional after accepting his award (AFP via Getty Images)

Ricky, who is known for his close-to-the-mark jokes has never hosted the Oscars, but has hosted the Golden Globes five times.

Will, who won his first Oscar for his role in King Richard, initially laughed about the incident, writing on his Instagram : "You can't invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere!"

But as the severity of the situation became clear, he posted a public apology.

Ricky has never hosted the Oscars, but he has done the Golden Globes (2020 NBCUniversal Media, LLC via Getty Images)
He said that Chris' joke was mild and that he would have joked about Jada's boyfriend instead (PA)

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"I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris,' he wrote.

"I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be."

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