'It's not acceptable' - Graham Norton on Will Smith's Oscars outburst

Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter Graham Norton has said that Will Smith's actions at the Oscars were "not acceptable" while speaking at the Royal Television Society (RTS) Awards on Tuesday.

Norton was honoured for his outstanding contributions to British television at this year’s awards. The chat show host was recognised for his contributions in 2020 but was unable to collect the prize in person due to the pandemic, but he returned to collect the reward this week.

Smith, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the Oscars last Sunday, went on stage and slapped American comedian Chris Rock after he made a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith.

Norton commented: "It's not acceptable. Heckling, yes - heckling is acceptable. Punching people isn't."

The 58-year-old said that Smith was "lovely" when he appeared on his chat show 'The Graham Norton Show' "but Chris Rock probably has a different opinion."

He added: "I think it's too late to take the award off him now because nothing happened: he sat in the chair and then they cut away as if nothing had happened.

"It was like he'd used his Men in Black memory stick and everyone had forgotten immediately."