Saturday Night Live: Host Jerrod Carmichael Jokes Will Smith Oscar Slap Feels Like "Years Ago"

By Spencer Perry

Comedian Jerrod Carmichael took to SNL Studios to begin his hosting duties for the new episode of Saturday Night Live and his monologue was devoted entirely to the Will Smith-Chris Rock Oscar slap, ,but he deliberately went out of his way to not mention it by name. Carmichael says he wasn't planning to mention it at all but series creator Lorne Michaels approached him and said he needed to "heal the nation," which sent him down another tirade about how he's not famous enough for such a task. He ended his monologue by addressing the camera directly and pleading with President Barack Obama to "talk about it," meaning the slap, because, "the nation needs to heal."

"I've talked about it enough," Carmichael said at the start of his monologue. "Kept talking about, kept thinking about it, I don't wanna talk about it. Do you want to talk about it? Aren't you sick of talking about it? Isn't it kind of crazy, it feels like we've been talking about it for so long. This is going to really blow your minds. Can you bleive...it's been six days. Six days. This happened a week ago. Doesn't it feel like it happened years ago? Doesn't it feel like it happened while we were all in high school?"

The incident between Rock and Smith took place during The Academy Awards last Sunday night, a point of contention for Carmichael who couldn't believe we were still talking about it almost a week later. During the ceremony the comedian told a joke at the expense of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock's comment about Pinkett Smith's haircut seemed to go over not great in the room but the entire vibe changed when Smith walked onto the stage and started the physical altercation. Smith would go on to win the Best Actor Oscar that night apologizing to The Academy during his speech but not addressing Rock by name; he would later release a public statement where he apologizes to Rock as well, with the most recent update to the story being that Smith has resigned his membership from The Academy.

"I am heartbroken," Smith wrote in his statement where he confirmed he was resigning from The Academy. "I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film. So, I am resigning from membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will accept any further consequences the Board deems appropriate. Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."

Carmichael made headlines earlier this week after his new HBO Max comedy special, Rothaniel, where the comedian came out publicly as gay. "I'm accepting the love, I really appreciate the love. My ego wants to rebel against it," Carmichael told the audience in the special (H/T Variety). "I rebelled against it my whole life. I thought I'd never, ever come out. At many points I thought I'd rather die than confront the truth of that, to actually say it to people. Because I know it changes some people's perceptions of me. I can't control that."

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