Will Smith’s slap at the Oscars has been described as “an attack” and “a most disturbing incident” by nine-time Oscars host Billy Crystal.

Smith stormed on stage at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27 and punched presenter Chris Rock in the face after the comedian made a joke about his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith announced his resignation from the Academy five days after the incident (on Friday, April 1).

In a recent look on Bob Costas’s chat show Back on the Record on HBO Max, Crystal called the altercation a “most disturbing incident, for sure. It was an assault. I’ve had experiences. I hosted the Grammys three times and I’ve been thrown things.”

Billy Crystal went on to say about the significance of having a single host throughout a ceremony, a trend that is waning in popularity. “I sort of set myself up to host the show, really host the show, so you can tie it together,” Crystal said.

“So, whenever I see shows that it’s a no-host show, yeah, it went faster, but there’s nobody there to capitalise on anything and give the audience the feeling of there’s somebody in charge.”

Billy Crystal previously poked fun at the slap at the end of his new Broadway show, Mr Saturday Night, The New York Post reported, telling the audience: “We got through a show and no one got slapped. Unbelievable.”

Rock has also been chastised for making a joke about Pinkett Smith’s baldness (caused by alopecia).

While Rock has yet to respond to the joke, TMZ reports that he “had no idea” Pinkett Smith suffered from baldness.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said on Wednesday (6 April) that its annual meeting will be moved up by ten days to debate possible sanctions against Smith.

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