Comedian Nate Bargatze alluded to Will Smith beating Chris Rock at the Oscars for wearing a helmet to perform at the 2022 Grammy Awards in Las Vegas.
“I have to warn everyone, stay in your seats and keep your hands together,” Grammys host LeVar Burton said at the awards ceremony on March 3.
Bargatze then took the stage wearing a large black helmet and drew a laugh from the audience.
“They say comedians now have to wear them at awards shows during joke parties,” he said. “It doesn’t even cover your face, I think it just focuses on where I would get hit.”
The comedian then took off his helmet and said “okay, that’s stupid” before presenting the award for Best Spoken Word Album.
Bargatze was nominated for a 2022 Grammy for Best Comedy Album.
At the Oscars on March 27, Smith took the stage to slap Chris Rock after Rock made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Though Smith claimed he defended Pinkett Smith from a joke about his alopecia diagnosis, a source close to Rock says the comedian had “no idea” about it. Smith, who is facing disciplinary action from the Academy, announced on Friday, April 1.