Richard E Grant acknowledged the elephant in the room. The Will Smith slap gate incident has become a prime example of what one should not do at an award show or any other event. While the matter was serious, the world of the internet did not miss a chance to make meme content. Refreshing the memory of it all was Grant during this year’s Bafta Awards.

While the Oscar incident happened last year, the Academy Awards themselves decided to move on, without mentioning it again. But while they ensured to skip any mentions, the audience at BAFTA Awards burst into laughter over it.

How Richard E Grant joked about the Will Smith incident during the BAFTA Awards

The echo of the American Academy Award 2022 was heard in this year’s 2023 BAFTA Awards. As per DailyMail, the night’s host Richard E Grant once again refreshed memories of the Oscar slap gate incident. While opening the dialogue, he said, “Nobody on my watch gets slapped tonight – except on the back.” It was a risky joke, but the audience seemed to have taken it in good humor as they burst out in laughter.

The host was wearing an all-white attire with a vampire-like cloak as he made the sarcastic joke while assuring good vibes only. Although it is a wonder if Smith has seen the BAFTA Awards and reacted to it, the incident continues to affect him. While he disappeared for weeks, he has only now begun making appearances again.

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Neither Chris Rock nor his fans seem to have forgiven the actor over this incident, but the photo of him slapping Rock still trends online. The King Richard actor certainly paid a heavy price for it.

The aftermath of the slap gate incident

While the actor apologized for his mistakes, his movie Emancipation did not do as well as expected. On the other hand, they have banned him from attending the Academy Awards for the next one decade, with his membership being pulled out. Despite winning an Oscar, he was trending just for the incident.

The Academy criticized his actions while deciding to keep this year’s event free of the actor or his mentions. But that did not stop the British entertainer from cracking a joke during the BAFTA Awards.

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