Trevor Noah References Will Smith Oscars Incident in Grammys Monologue

Trevor Noah took the stage as the 2022 Grammys host armed with plenty of comedy fodder from recent current events.

During his monologue, Noah included a joke about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at last week’s Oscars ceremony. “We’re gonna be listening to some music, we’re gonna be dancing, we’re gonna be singing, we’re gonna be keeping people’s names out of our mouths and we’re gonna be giving out awards all throughout the night,” he said.

Noah, who emceed last year’s show from outside of the Los Angeles Convention Center amid stricter COVID-19 protocols, noted that holding music’s biggest night in Las Vegas this year meant being surrounded by people doing shots. “Last time, people were doing shots, but it was more Moderna and Pfizer,” he quipped.

As Noah made his way through the crowd, he said that House of Gucci stars Lady Gaga and Jared Leto were in attendance. “It’s not a full House of Gucci — more like an Apartment of Gucci,” Noah joked. “A Gucci Airbnb.”

Walking past Justin Bieber, the host referenced Call Me by Your Name when saying that the singer’s Grammy-nominated hit “Peaches” is “the best thing to happen to peaches since that Timothée Chalamet movie.”

The Oscars slap was also referenced when Questlove presented the song of the year award. “I’m gonna present this award, and I trust that you people will stay 500 feet away from me,” he joked before adding that he was “just playing.” (Rock was presenting the best documentary feature Oscar last weekend, which ultimately went to Questlove’s film Summer of Soul following the altercation between Smith and Rock.)

Later, Noah delivered a joke about NFTs when introducing a segment honoring individuals who work behind the scenes to make tours happen. In commenting on how touring has changed amid the pandemic, the host cracked, “You know it’s been rough when your favorite artists go from trying to sell you music to trying to sell you pictures of digital monkeys.”

During a bit that involved the South Africa-born Noah sitting at a table with Silk Sonic, the host quipped that critics have felt something might be missing from the duo’s recent Vegas residency. “They were like, ‘The only thing that could make the show better is if there was a bit of a South African element,'” the comedian claimed.

BTS also got to sit down with Noah later in the night, with the host asking Kim Nam-joon about the show Friends helping him to learn English. “Friends is my English parents,” the singer confirmed. “I’m like a Chandler. When I see him, I was like, ‘I feel so sad.’ I love him.”

Hosted by Noah, the 64th Grammy Awards ceremony was held Sunday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and aired live on CBS and Paramount+.