Trevor Noah addressed the Will Smith Oscars slap in his introduction to the Grammys on Sunday (3 April).
At the Las Vegas ceremony, held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena, host Noah said: “We’re going to be listening to some music, we’re going to be dancing, we’re going to be singing, we’re going to be keeping people’s names out of our mouths.”
Smith infamously told Chris Rock at the last week’s Oscars (27 March) to “keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth” after striding on stage and slapping the comedian for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Earlier in the pre-show premiere ceremony, where the majority of the Grammys were awarded, comedian Nate Bargatze also poked fun at the Oscars incident. Bargatze walked on stage wearing a large black helmet, drawing laughs from the audience.
“They said comedians have to wear these now at awards shows during the joke parts,” he said. “It doesn’t even cover your face, I think it just focuses where you would hit me.”
While Smith claimed that he was defending Pinkett Smith from a joke about her alopecia diagnosis, a source close to Rock says he “had no idea” about it. Smith, who faces disciplinary action from the Academy, announced his resignation from the awards body on Friday (1 April).
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