Despite Will Smith's ten-year ban from the Oscars, Ricky Gervais pokes fun at him

Updated on April 10, 2022 10:40 AM by Emily Hazel

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais poked fun at the Academy's decision to ban Will Smith from attending future Oscar ceremonies. The comedian, 60, retweeted the news of Will's punishment on Friday, noting that the 53-year-old is likely to do 'six years' for good behavior. Will, who does not have to return his Oscar for Best Actor, was given the ban after he slapped Chris Rock on stage at last month's ceremony after he made a joke about Jade Pinkett Smith.

Smith-Rock incident

Ricky shared an article announcing Will's ban: 'Hopefully, he'll only get 6 years. 'He has become a prominent voice among celebrities following the Smith-Rock incident. In addition, Will Smith commented on Jada Pinkett Smith's alopecia as a 'disability.'During a live Twitter Q&A session, Ricky described Chris Rock's joke about Jada's hair loss as the 'tamest joke' he would have told.

94th Academy Awards

A couple of months ago, Will, 53, stormed on stage at the 94th Academy Awards and slapped Chris for making a joke about his wife's shaved head, calling her 'G.I. Jane'. Chris's joke was getting a lot of backlash on social media, and Ricky was amused at social media users referring to alopecia, a hair loss condition, as a disability. There was a joking reference to Jada's disability. My health is declining, so I'm disabled. Now I can park right in front of Tescos,' he chuckled.

Oscars host

"And I'm fat, that's a disease," he added with a laugh. Fat and balding, I should get f***ing benefits. Chris continued by saying 'it wasn't bad as he condemned Will for slapping the Oscars host for making a joke. The man said: 'You don't hit people over a joke, no matter how bad it is.' It wasn't bad at all! I would never tell such a tame joke. After slapping Chris, Will was banned from the Oscars for ten years, but he kept his award for Best Actor. Smith's 'unacceptable' and 'harmful' behavior 'overshadowed' the entire night, the Academy said in a statement.

Apologize

We did not adequately address the situation in the room during our telecast. We apologize for this. It was an opportunity for us to set an example for our viewers, viewers around the world, and our Academy family, and we fell short - unprepared for the unprecedented. As a result, the Board has decided to bar Mr. Smith from attending any Academy events or programs, either in person or virtually, beginning April 8, 2022.Thank you so much Mr. Rock for maintaining your composure in the face of extraordinary circumstances. Throughout the telecast, our hosts, nominees, presenters, and winners displayed poise and grace.

Harvey Weinstein

Smith told Deadline on Friday afternoon: 'I accept and respect the Academy's decision.' The Academy was unable to revoke his membership because he resigned last Friday, as it did with Harvey Weinstein. Jada Smith will still be allowed to attend events in person. After 12 days of furious debate in hundreds of WhatsApp groups, the 54-person Board of Governors meeting on Friday morning. The slap divided Hollywood and the public, with some insisting he should be stripped of his Oscar and not rewarded for violence while others dismissed and mocked it.

Jada Pinkett-Smith

In response to Chris's joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's shaved head, Will slapped him onstage. In the past, Pinkett-Smith has talked about her struggles with alopecia. Smith returned to his seat after the slap and yelled, "you don't say the name of my wife.". Smith returned to his seat after the slap and yelled, "you don't say the name of my wife.".sed his speech to apologize to the Academy and to Rock, and he later posted an apology on Instagram.Chris kept silent about the incident, saying only that he was 'processing' what happened.