Jason Manford couldn’t resist poking fun at Oscars slap-gate as he fronted the 2022 Olivier Awards at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Sunday.

The funnyman, 40, warned the audience at the beginning of the show: ‘There will be moments where I’ve got to fill a bit of time when they’re changing the set.

‘So I’ll come out and have a chat with some of you guys in the audience… please don’t slap me in the face.’

Jason Manford jokes about Will Smith’s Oscar slap at Olivier awards

Funnyman: Jason Manford, 40, cracked a joke about the Chris Rock and Will Smith Oscar slap while hosting the Olivier Awards on Sunday evening

The joke poked fun at the scandal during last month’s Academy Awards when Will Smith stormed the stage to slap Chris Rock after the comedian had poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith. 

Jason continued to reference the Oscars as he compared himself to Chris and shared that comedians and award shows don’t go well together at the moment.

‘I’m a comedian, and this is an awards ceremony, and those two things have not gone down well together lately,’ he quipped.

Ouch! The Oscars, which took place in late March, are still making headlines after the shock on stage altercation between Chris and Will

The comedian continued: ‘So before we get into this properly, let me tell you, I think all your hair looks lovely, and I will very much be keeping your wives names out of my chuffing mouth this evening.

‘This is an evening of back-slapping, not face-slapping!’

The audience roared with laughter and gave the comedian a clap as he made light of the Oscar debacle, opening the evening with cheer.   

Filling for time: The funnyman quipped, ‘So I’ll come out and have a chat with some of you guys in the audience… please don’t slap me in the face’  

The Oscars are still making headlines after the shock on stage altercation between Chris and Will.

Chris, who hosted the star-studded evening, made a joke about Will’s wife, Jada , and her hair – as she sported a shaved head look for the event due to her battle with alopecia. 

The comedian jested: ‘Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,’ in reference to the 1997 movie starring Demi Moore with a shaved head. 

Will Smith SLAPS Chris Rock at the Oscars over joke about Jada

But not everyone found the joke funny, as Will marched onto stage to slap Chris in the face – before swearing at him, saying ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth’

Will gave a tearful apology later on, but has now been banned from the Academy for 10 years.

Other comedians such as Ricky Gervais also jumping on the incident to see light in the situation, joking he’s likely to ‘do six years with good behaviour.’

Bad joke: Chris, who hosted the star-studded evening, made a joke about Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her hair – as she sported a shaved head look for the event