Late-night TV hosts roast Will Smith after Oscars slap: ‘He’s not here, is he?’

After a surprising and chaotic Oscar Sunday, late-night TV hosts welcomed viewers again to their often scheduled programming Monday.

“Except you’re Chris Rock,” stated “Late Present” host Stephen Colbert, “as a result of I’m fairly certain he obtained slapped into subsequent week.”

Colbert was amongst a number of comedians who devoted their complete opening monologues to the Academy Awards — which flew off the rails this weekend when nominee (and eventual winner) Will Smith rose from his seat, walked onto the stage and slapped presenter Chris Rock within the face on reside TV.

“‘CODA’ received finest image, and that’s just about what all people’s speaking about,” joked “Late Late Present” host James Corden. “I didn’t see the rest occur, did you?”

“Keep in mind a couple of years in the past when the Oscars actually introduced the mistaken winner for finest image?” stated “Tonight Present” host Jimmy Fallon. “Seems that was youngster’s play. … Everybody within the viewers appeared shocked, and for as soon as it wasn’t from the Botox. Critically, you understand it was a wierd awards present when it ends with an announcement from the LAPD.”

Within the unlikely occasion anybody missed what’s going to most likely go down in historical past because the buzziest Oscars second of all time, every comedian provided a variation of this recap: Whereas presenting the award for documentary characteristic, Rock made a joke about actor Jada Pinkett Smith, evaluating her shaved head to Demi Moore’s coiffure within the 1997 movie “G.I. Jane.”

In an effort to defend his spouse — who has a hair-loss situation known as alopecia — Smith rushed the stage, struck Rock, returned to his seat and twice yelled, “Preserve my spouse’s identify out your f— mouth!”

(Smith was nominated for his lead efficiency in “King Richard” because the titular father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams, who have been additionally within the viewers.)

“Right here’s a sentence we are going to say for the remainder of our lives: Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, and life as we all know it modified eternally,” stated “Late Evening” correspondent Amber Ruffin.

“I had hoped that it was a bit, however that shortly turned to mud. A darkish disappointment stuffed my dwelling and darkness I couldn’t escape. The Oscars misplaced its magic. … The sofa I used to be sitting on all of the sudden felt exhausting and unwelcoming. My heated blanket went cool. The candy tea I used to be having fun with misplaced all its taste. The Oscars took all the things I assumed I knew and flushed it down the bathroom. On this new world, might I survive?”

On “The Late Present,” Colbert deemed the violent outburst “the worst factor Will Smith has ever carried out.”

“Wait, I forgot about ‘Wild Wild West,’” he quipped. “He’s not right here, is he? … I’m kidding, clearly. The worst factor he’s ever carried out is ‘Gemini Man.’”

Instantly after the slap, a surprised Rock remarked, “Will Smith simply smacked the s— out of me,” collected himself and moved on with the present. On Monday, Smith issued an announcement apologizing to the “King Richard” workforce, the Williams household, the Oscars producers and Rock, admitting his habits was “mistaken” and “out of line.”

Throughout his acceptance speech for lead actor, Smith additionally apologized to the academy and his fellow nominees.

“It’s by no means OK to punch a comic,” Colbert continued. “Will Smith was offended by the joke and needed to face up for his spouse — positive. Problem Chris to a duel or — in case you actually need to damage a comic — don’t giggle. That hurts far more than a punch.”

A number of late-night hosts praised Rock, their comedy peer, for sustaining his composure after getting assaulted in entrance of thousands and thousands of viewers worldwide.

“Chris Rock dealt with it about in addition to you could possibly presumably deal with being slapped on stage on the Oscars,” stated Jimmy Kimmel on his eponymous program. “He didn’t even flinch when Will slapped him. I might have cried so exhausting. … Chris stated one thing like, ‘Properly, that was the best second within the historical past of tv,’ after which went proper into introducing finest documentary as if he hadn’t simply been slapped by the Contemporary Prince of Bel-Air.”

“I applaud Chris Rock for recovering, retaining the present transferring,” echoed Corden. “An extremely dignified response. I’ll say this: Will Smith can’t take a joke. Chris Rock can take a punch. A metal jaw. Unbelievable.”

(See additionally: Corden’s intelligent parody of the favored “Encanto” track “We Don’t Discuss About Bruno,” titled “We Don’t Discuss About Jada.”)

Throughout his stand-up set, Kimmel admitted he was “somewhat bummed” that the slap appears to have surpassed Envelopegate because the wildest Oscars incident of all time. In 2017, Kimmel hosted the ceremony during which “La La Land” was mistakenly topped finest image over the true winner, “Moonlight.”

“I’ve solely now hosted the second-craziest Oscars,” Kimmel stated.

“A whole lot of my mates have been texting me, asking what I might have carried out if I had been onstage. I might have run, is what I might’ve carried out. The second I noticed Will Smith rise up out of his seat, I’d have been midway to the Wetzel’s Pretzels having fun with the samples in entrance of the shop.”