The 64th Annual Grammy Awards were filled with jabs taken at Will Smith and his Oscars slap that happened just one week earlier.
In his opening monologue, host Trevor Noah told the crowd of performers they would be singing, listening to music, dancing, giving out and receiving awards, and “keeping people’s names out of our mouths.”
Noah said the night should not be thought of as an award show but rather a concert with awards involved.
Other presenters also took the opportunity to blast the now-infamous Oscars slap.
Musician Questlove, whose Summer of Soul won the Oscar for best documentary immediately after Smith slapped Chris Rock, presented the Grammy for Song of the Year and drew attention to the distance between him and audience members.
“All right, I am going to present this award, and I trust that you people will stay 500 feet away from me,” Questlove said. “As they say, it is far better to give than to receive. Well, I’m not so sure about that because last Sunday, it felt pretty good to receive.”
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During the pre-show awards presentation, actor LeVar Burton warned the crowd the next presenter was a comedian, poking at Smith’s taking exception to Rock’s joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head that is caused by alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss.
“I need to caution everybody. Remain in your seats and keep your hands to yourself,” Burton said before welcoming Nate Bargatze.
Bargatze walked onstage wearing a helmet as the crowd laughed and cheered.
“They said comedians have to wear these now at award shows during their joke parts,” Bargatze told the crowd while chuckling. “All right, it doesn’t cover your face. I think it just focuses where you would hit me.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also appeared via a pre-recorded video, in which he called for those in attendance to make art out of his country’s tragedy.
“On our land, we are fighting Russia, which brings horrible silence with its bombs,” he said. “The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about this war on your social networks, on TV. Support us in any way you can, but not silence. And then peace will come.”
