Viewers of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards were left open-mouthed when Bruno Mars sparked up a cigarette on stage while accepting his prize for Record of the Year on Sunday night.
The singer, 36, took home the gong as part of R&B supergroup Silk Sonic – which comprises of Bruno and rapper Anderson .Paak – for their 2021 debut Leave the Door Open.
After walking up in front of the audience to accept the accolade, Bruno put a cigarette into his mouth, with some music fans finding the incident more shocking than Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars last month.
Shocked: Television viewers of the 64th Annual Grammy Awards were left open-mouthed when Bruno Mars sparked up a cigarette on stage in Las Vegas on Sunday
One person tweeted: ‘Bruno Mars just lit a cigarette on the Grammys stage in the middle of accepting an award, can we talk about that instead of Will Smith now?’
Meanwhile, one other viewer was so unimpressed, they wrote they would not be attending another Bruno Mars gig again.The former fan posted: ‘Great music but did @BrunoMars just light a cigarette on stage???? One concert I will no longer go to…’
Calling his actions in to question, someone else wrote: ‘Bruno Mars lights a cigarette on stage while accepting a Grammy. WTH?’
Champs: The singer, 36, took home the gong as part of R&B supergroup Silk Sonic – which comprises of Bruno and rapper Anderson .Paak – for their 2021 debut Leave the Door Open
‘I would like to see the fire Marshall fine Bruno Mars for smoking a cigarette on stage!!!!’, wrote another.
Another unimpressed viewer posted: ‘Bruno Mars just sparked a cigarette well expecting his award [vomit face emoji] #GRAMMYs’
‘That cigarette better be fake #TheGrammys,’ declared someone else.
Celebrating his way: After walking up in front of the audience to accept the accolade, Bruno put a cigarette into his mouth
However, not all members of the audience at home were disgusted, with some taking to Twitter to say they liked his relaxed energy.
‘Oh to be Bruno Mars smoking a cigarette on stage at the Grammys,’ wrote one person.
‘It was the Bruno Mars accepting a #GRAMMYs and lighting up a cigarette on stage – vibe for me,’ shared someone else.
Unimpressed: Some music fans finding the incident more shocking than Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars last month
Another excitable fan wrote: ‘Bruno mars lighting up a CIGARETTE when winning is EVERYTHING!!!!’
Someone else posted: ‘Did @BrunoMars just light up a cigarette on stage while accepting an award. I am living for his 70’s persona #TheGrammys’
Meanwhile, Silk Sonic joked that they were ‘trying hard to be humble’ as they won Record of the Year at the Grammys.
They received the coveted accolade for their 2021 debut Leave the Door Open, just hours after scooping up the gong for Song of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards and hugged upon hearing their name called out by country star Keith Urban before dancing their way out of their seats.
Opposing view: However, not all members of the audience at home were disgusted, with some taking to Twitter to say they liked his relaxed energy
Controversial: The cigarette incident comes after actor Will Smith, 53, slapped comedian Chris Rock, 57, across the cheek on stage at the Oscars last month
Jesting: Chris compared Will’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, 50 (left), to GI Jane in a joke about her shaved hair
Upon the win, Anderson said: ‘Listen, listen, listen. We are really trying hard to remain humble at this point. But in the industry, we call that a clean sweep! All right? To all the other nominees, we love y’all. We love y’all!’
Anderson – who along with Bruno fought off stiff competition from the likes of ABBA, Olivia Rodrigo with Drivers License and Billie Eilish with Happier than Ever went on to further joke that the ‘drinks would be on them’ after they claimed their fourth gong of the night and opened the show with a performance of their song 777.
He added: ‘Drinks is on Silk Sonic tonight. We’re getting drunk! I know a lot of y’all fans might be upset so we’re gonna get out here before the Internet gets talking!’
Champions: Silk Sonic joked that they were ‘trying hard to be humble’ as they won Record of the Year at the Grammys
Co-star Bruno added: ‘We love you! Goodnight!’
The song became the big winner of the night, collecting four Grammys in total at the event, as it was named Best R&B Performance in a tie with Jazmine Sullivan’s Pick Up Your Feelings and also won Best R&B Performance.
Upon winning the Song of the Year award, Bruno told his co-star: ‘I couldn’t be more proud to be doing this with than anyone other than you. Because of you, we’ll be singing this song together for the rest of our lives. So God bless you all.’
Delighted: They received the coveted accolade for their 2021 debut Leave the Door Open, just hours after scooping up the gong for Song of the Year at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards
The 64th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Comedian Trevor Noah hosted the event, which was televised and streamed live from the Sin City venue.
Music’s biggest night recognised the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, which ran from September 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021.
Making music: The song became the big winner of the night, collecting four Grammys in total at the event
The Grammys were initially set to take place on Jan. 31 in Los Angeles, but got pushed due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
‘Given the uncertainty surrounding the Omicron variant, holding the show on January 31 simply contains too many risks,’ CBS and the Recording Academy said.
Harvey Mason Jr., CEO of the Recording Academy, confirmed later in January that it would be moving to Las Vegas.
‘We are excited to take the GRAMMYs to Las Vegas for the very first time, and to put on a world-class show,’ he said.
‘From the moment we announced the postponement of the original show date, we have been inundated with heartfelt messages of support and solidarity from the artist community.’
‘We are humbled by their generosity and grateful for their unwavering commitment to the GRAMMY Awards and the Academy’s mission.’