will smith tears

Ricky Gervais says Will Smith 'wanted to feel like a man' in new comments over Oscars slap

Ricky is known for making controversial comments while hosting – and weighed in on his thoughts about Chris Rock's joke

TV & Film Editor
June 1, 2022

Ricky Gervais has spoken candidly about his reaction to the moment at the Oscars where Will Smith slapped Chris Rock following a joke aimed at his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and suggested that the King Richard star wanted to "feel like a man".

MORE: Chris Rock’s mum shares heartbreaking reaction to Will Smith slapping son

Discussing the situation on Sirius XM with Jim Norton and Sam Roberts, he said: "That joke that Will Smith slapped someone for was the lamest, sweetest joke in the world. No disrespect to Chris Rock, it wasn’t an insult. And she rolled her eyes and that’s it.

WATCH: Will Smith assaults Chris Rock at 2022 Oscars

"I was trending for two days and I wasn’t even there. And I had a gig that night, a new material night. So I had to acknowledge it. And I walked out on stage, ‘I’ve got no Will Smith material.’ And it got a big laugh, just because they were thinking it. It was trending on Twitter ‘What would happen if Ricky was hosting it?’ And I said ‘Nothing because I wouldn’t have made about his wife’s hair. I’d have made a joke about her boyfriend.’ And then that trended and made the papers."

Ricky spoke about the incident

He added: "That’s a big thing though. To slap someone at the Oscars, it’s insane. And I still don’t quite know what he was thinking, why he was doing it. I think he wanted to feel like a man."

MORE: Amy Schumer releases statement about Will Smith and Chris Rock

MORE: Jada Pinkett Smith will discuss family's 'healing' on Red Table Talk after Will Smith's Oscars incident

Ricky spoke about the situation on SiriusFX

Will has since apologised to the academy, and to Chris, following the incident. Meanwhile, Chris has mentioned the incident in his stand-up tour, but he has yet to share his reaction to the shocking moment, instead joking: "Don't expect me to talk about the [expletive]. I'll talk about it at some point … on Netflix. Your tickets were expensive, but not that expensive."

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