Washington [US], July 1 (HBTV): Academy Award-winning actor and rapper Will Smith has seemingly referenced his infamous slap of comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars during a recent freestyle rap performance.

While appearing on British DJ Charlie Sloth’s Fire in the Booth, Smith rapped: ‘If you talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage.’

He continued: ‘Jokers dish it out, cry foul when it's time to take it / City full of real ones, wasn't raised to fake it,’ according to People magazine.

The lyrics appear to allude to the widely publicised incident at the 94th Academy Awards, where Smith walked onto the stage and slapped Chris Rock after the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Rock had said, ‘Jada, I love ya. GI Jane 2, can't wait to see ya,’ referencing the 1997 film GI Jane, in which the lead character, played by Demi Moore, sports a shaved head.

Pinkett Smith has publicly spoken about her medical condition, alopecia, which causes hair loss.

Following the incident, Smith issued an apology, stating: ‘Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behaviour at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable.’ He later resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was banned from attending Academy events, including the Oscars, for 10 years.

This isn’t the first time Smith has addressed the slap in his music. His recent album, Based on a True Story, contains several lyrical references that hint at the controversy. In one track, he refers to being ‘cancelled’, while another features a line: ‘Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talkin’ bout? / You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.’

(ANI)