Sick of talking about Will Smith slipping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars? So is Jerrod Carmichael.
The comedian hosted Saturday Night Live on April 2 and addressed the fatigue of the subject in his opening monologue.
"I'm not gonna talk about it," he told the audience "I kept talking about it, you can't make me talk about it. Do you want to talk about it? Aren't you sick of talking about it?"
The 34-year-old joked that he couldn't believe it had only been six days since the notorious incident, which occurred live on-air on March 27.
"Doesn't it feel like it happened years ago?" he asked the audience. "Doesn't it feel like it happened when we were all in in high school? It feels like it happened somewhere between Jamiroquai and 9/11. It feels like we've been living in the wake of it our whole lives."
Carmichael also explained how he grew progressively more and more tired of the drama surrounding the slap throughout the week. On Monday, the day following the altercation, the comedian said that "you wouldn't be able to get me to shut up" about it.
But by Tuesday? "Still talking about it, a little less," he recalled. "By Wednesday, I wanted to kill myself. I don't really remember Thursday. By Friday, I made a vow to myself that I would never ever talk about it again."
The Carmichael Show star joked that he changed his tune, however, when SNL creator Lorne Michaels came into his dressing room and told him that he should talk about it because "the nation needs to heal."
To which Carmichael hilariously responded, "The nation doesn't even know me. I have to be the least famous host in SNL history."
Instead, Carmichael offered up a suggestion of a public figure who he thinks should weigh in on the incident: former President Barack Obama.
"Hey B, what's going on, man? Real quick: You just chilling right now?" he addressed the politician to the camera. "You got us all hopped up on hope and change and unfortunately I have some news for you, Barack. You're not going to like this. We need you back because I think you're gonna have to talk about it. The nation needs to heal."
During the Oscars, Rock made a joke G.I. Jane joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith—who suffers from alopecia—leading the 53-year-old actor to charge the stage and slap the SNL alum across the face. Once he returned to his seat, Smith shouted twice, "Keep my wife's name out of your f--king mouth."
In the days following the ceremony, Smith—who took home the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in King Richard—apologized to Rock in a statement on Instagram and later resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. However, the Academy is still exploring consequences for Smith's actions, which could include "suspension, expulsion, or other sanctions," such as being banned from Academy events.
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