John Oliver condemns OJ Simpson for weighing in on Will Smith’s Oscar slap

‘No one wants to hear from you on this’

John Oliver has taken aim at OJ Simpson for weighing in on the controversy surrounding Will Smith’s altercation with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

The former convict had shared his thoughts on the incident in a self-shot video shared to social media.

“It was unfortunate,” said Simpson. “I think Will [Smith] was wrong. Look, I understood the feeling.”

Speaking on his topical HBO series Last Week Tonight, Oliver described Smith’s slap as “a moment that has since spawned thousands of terrible takes”, highlighting Simpson’s as “maybe being the one we needed the least”.

A clip was played of Simpson’s reaction to the incident, before Oliver responded: “Nope. Not you, OJ. No one wants to hear from you on this.

“Especially, when you seem to be coming live from the Covid patio of a Señor Frog’s. You can just sit this one out,” he joked.

The British-American comedian then riffed on Simpson’s nickname, “The Juice”, which dates back to his days as a professional NFL footballer.

“Think of this situation like a rowdy bachelorette ordering a mimosa,” joked Oliver. “We want as little juice involved here as humanly possible.”

Simpson was far from the only public figure to offer their unsolicited thoughts on the incident, which saw Smith slap Rock on the Oscars stage after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, actor Jada Pinkett Smith.

From Judd Apatow to Adam Sandler, click here for a breakdown of what celebrities said about the “slap heard around the world”.