James Corden has weighed in on the Oscars controversy, saying Will Smith ‘can’t take a joke’.
The host was, of course, referring to the moment Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Academy Awards on Sunday, 27 March, for making a joke at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s expense.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Late Late Show, Corden criticised the King Richard star while praising the comedian for his reaction to the slap.
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“I applaud Chris Rock for recovering, keeping the show moving. It was an incredibly dignified response,” he said to rounds of applause from the audience.
He continued: “I’ll say this, Will Smith can’t take a joke,” before adding, “Chris Rock can take a punch. A steel jaw. Unbelievable!”
Corden went on to point out that viewers were so confused by the incident, the hashtag #WhatJustHappened immediately started trending on Twitter.
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And, later on in the episode, he also parodied ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ from Disney’s Oscar-winning Encanto, replacing the name ‘Bruno’ with ‘Jada’.
The Gavin and Stacey star is just one of many celebrities who have criticised Smith’s actions.
That includes Amy Schumer, who co-hosted the event alongside Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall.
The comedian has since taken to Instagram to voice her thoughts on the dramatic events, writing: “I think we can all agree that the best way to unpack what happened is to stream my series @lifeandbethhulu and see me on tour this fall.
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“But for real. Still triggered and traumatised.”
She went on to praise her ‘friend’ and fellow comedian Rock for not retaliating on stage at the awards show.
“I love my friend @chrisrock and believe he handled it like a pro. Stayed up there and gave an Oscar to his friend @questlove and the whole thing was so disturbing.
“So much pain in @willsmith anyway I’m still in shock and stunned and sad. I'm proud of myself and my co hosts. But yeah. Waiting for this sickening feeling to go away from what we all witnessed.”
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Other stars have put forward their concerns that Smith's Oscars slap may have a trickle-down effect on comedy shows - even on a local level.
Star Wars' Mark Hamill summed the feeling up, writing: "Stand-up comics are very adept at handling hecklers. Violent physical assault... not so much."
Hamill’s tweet drew the distinction between speech and action, which American radio personality Howard Stern echoed on his SiriusXM radio show.
“You don’t hit people over speech, certainly not at the Academy Awards, and Will Smith’s got to contain himself," Stern said.
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Jim Carrey agreed, saying that 'if you want to yell from the audience and show disapproval or say something on Twitter [that’s ok]'.
"You do not have the right to walk up on stage and smack somebody in the face ‘cuz they said words," the comedy great added.
Topics: Chris Rock, Will Smith, Oscars, James Corden, Academy Awards
Daisy Phillipson