Will Smith’s Oscars 2022 slap, aimed at comedian Chris Rock, continued to echo at the Grammy Awards in Las Vegas. A cryptic joke about the incident attracted a big laugh from the audience on Sunday.

LeVar Burton, who was hosting the pre-show for the Grammy Awards on Sunday night, threw the Will Smith- Chris Rock joke into his assortment of zingers. While introducing Nate Bargatze, also a comedian, LeVar Burton asked the audience to stay in their seats.

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“I need to warn everybody, the next presenter is a comedian,” Burton said. “I need to caution everybody, remain in your seats and keep your hands to yourselves.”

A wave of scattered giggles went through the room and soon turned into a full-blown hysterical laugh when the audience saw Nate Bargatze walk onto the stage. The 43-year-old comedian wore a comically large helmet as the attendees quickly got their phones out of their pockets to document the joke.

“They said comedians have to wear these now at award shows,” he joked. “It does not even cover your face”, Nate Bargatze said as he carried forward the joke initiated by the pre-show host.

Also Read: Will Smith, Jada danced at Oscars afterparty just hours after ‘slapgate’. Watch

Nate Bargatze was himself nominated at the 2022 Grammy Awards in the ‘Best Comedy Album’ category for ‘The Greatest Average American’. However, he missed out on the award after controversial comedian Louis CK was announced as the winner during the pre-show.

Comedian Chris Rock, who got smacked by actor Will Smith making a joke on Jada Pinkett Smith’s medical condition, publicly addressed the incident for the first time, but only briefly, at the beginning of a standup show Wednesday night in Boston, where he was greeted by a thunderous standing ovation. He said “I’m still kind of processing what happened.”