Ryan Tubridy took some time out of his morning show to speak about the already infamous incident on the 2022 Oscars stage in which Will Smith slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made comments about Will's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
During the prestigious awards ceremony, Chris Rock poked fun at Jada's hair loss as a result of alopecia while he presented the Oscar for documentary feature. He referred to Jada as "G.I. Jane” because of her shaved head which prompted her husband Will to appear on stage and slap the presenter.
Will then returned to his seat and could be heard yelling at Chris: "Keep my wife’s name out of your f****** mouth."
Read more: RTE viewers praise Hughie Maughan as he slams racist abuse that travelling community face
The incident has been the topic of conversation all morning with many having varying views on the matter.
Ryan Tubridy read out comments from listeners this morning and it's clear that opinions about Will's reaction are split.
One listener told Ryan: "Will may have believed he was defending his wife’s honour, but his acts were unlawful and feral. He disgraced himself, considering his and his wife’s stance in relation to the Academy’s failure to nominate and award people of colour."
Another said: "I think Will Smith was perfectly right. I think Chris Rock was bullying Jada. Women with alopecia often suffer mental health issues because they feel less of a woman. It wasn’t funny and he needed to know that."
Chiming in on the issue, Ryan agreed that the joke made by Chris was cruel, but did not agree that Will should have reacted in such a way.
He said: "He might have, excuse the expression, packed a more powerful punch if he used his words and decided to take Chris Rock out. I think that would have been better for his own sake."
One listener said: "[It was] a very innocuous joke. Just ask Ricky Gervais. Pinkett Smith has decided to own her alopecia which is extremely laudable. She could wear wigs if she wanted to. But if you can own it then you can’t be that upset when someone mocks you about it."
"Will is a comedian who can’t take a joke," they added.
Jada revealed last year that she had shaved her head after struggling with alopecia.
Read more: Nina Carberry wins RTE Dancing With The Stars 2022
Read more: Lottie Ryan admits she was 'freaked out' when Kylie Jenner chose baby name Wolf
Sign up to the Dublin Live Newsletter to get all the latest Dublin news straight to your inbox
