Jess Hardiman
Comedian Trevor Noah opened this year's Grammy Awards with a joke about Will Smith's behaviour at the Oscars last week, having made a cheeky reference to something that the actor had shouted at Chris Rock after slapping him.
Somehow it's been a week since slap-gate, which saw Smith stride onto the Oscars stage and - much to the surprise of pretty much everyone - slap Rock across the face after he made a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith's 'GI Jane' hairstyle. After returning to his seat, the actor then shouted up at Rock: "Keep my wife's name out of your f**king mouth."
Moments after the 64th Annual Grammy Awards kicked off, Noah was sure to get a dig in early, telling the crowd: “Don’t even think of this as an award show. It’s a concert where we are giving out awards, we will be listening to music, dancing, sing, keeping people’s names out of our mouths and we are going to give people awards all throughout the night. So let’s get straight into it.”
The blink-and-you'll-miss-it gag may have been brief, but it didn't go unnoticed by viewers watching at home, with one tweeting: "I knew Trevor Noah was gonna throw a Will Smith joke in but not this early lol."
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Someone else wrote: "Props to Trevor Noah for taking a shot at Will Smith. Can’t believe more comedians aren’t taking a run at this."
Another said Noah was a 'shameless troublemaker', saying they 'just knew' he would make a Will Smith Joke.
Elsewhere in Noah's opening monologue, he pointed out people partying doing shots - joking: “Last year people were doing shots but it was more Moderna and Pfizer."
And later in the ceremony, Questlove also made what appeared to be a reference to the Smith-Rock Oscars saga. Taking to the stage to present Song of the Year, he said: “I trust that you people stay 500ft away from me... Just playing!”
In the wake of the slap, Smith went on to apologise for the incident - saying a lengthy post he shared to Instagram: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
“I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. 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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.
“I would also like to apologise to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world.
"I would like to apologise to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behaviour has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress.”