Will Smith just won an Emmy.
No, not that Will Smith.
The 53-year-old British TV producer who created the Apple TV+ series “Slow Horses” went on stage to accept the award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series at the Emmys 2024 on Sunday night, and he poked fun about sharing the same name as the famous actor who infamously slapped Chris Rock on stage at the 2022 Oscars.
“First of all, relax. Despite my name, I come in peace,” he joked.
The audience laughed at the remark.
It’s been two and a half years since Will Smith the actor, 55, sensationally stormed the stage of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles on March 27, 2022, and assaulted Rock, 59, in full view of the audience and TV cameras because Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, during the Oscars.
“Jada, I love you,” Rock cracked while presenting the award for documentary feature. “‘G.I. Jane II’ — can’t wait to see it.”
Rock was referencing Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, which was a result of her suffering from the hair-loss condition alopecia.
Enraged, Smith shouted at Rock from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f–king mouth” twice, stomped up to the stage and smacked Rock.
Minutes after the slap, Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for playing Serena and Venus Williams’ dad Richard Williams in “King Richard.”
He was banned from the Oscars and all Academy Awards events for 10 years because of the slap, but was allowed to keep his award.
The “Independence Day” star then apologized to Rock in July 2022 on a publicly posted video.
“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment,” he said. “There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
The other Will Smith had a much calmer experience when he got on the Emmys stage.
He thanked the other people responsible for “Slow Horses” including lead star Gary Oldman.
The spy thriller series, which returned for Season 4 earlier this month, is based on Mick Herron’s series of novels.
Oldman, 66, stars alongside Jack Lowen, Kristin Scott Thomas and Jonathan Pryce.
The show snagged nine Emmy nominations this year, including Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, which it won, and Outstanding Drama Series.
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