The reporter who was once slapped by Will Smith on a red carpet has reacted to that incident at yesterday’s Oscars, joking that the A-lister had ‘practiced’ on him first. Watch what happened to the reporter here:
Last night, 27 March, Smith made headlines after storming onto the stage and slapping Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada.
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After returning to his seat, Smith shouted angrily up to Rock: "Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth."
But it’s not the first time Smith has been caught on camera dishing out a slap, having done the same to a Ukrainian reporter who tried to kiss him at the Moscow premiere of Men In Black III back in 2012.
Vitalii Sediuk – who is also a self-proclaimed prankster – had asked the star for a hug, but ended up going in for a kiss.
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Needless to say, it didn’t go down well with Smith, who pushed him away before slapping Sediuk with the back of his left hand.
Sediuk, 33, has since reacted to Smith’s latest incident, having compared the two moments with photos on Instagram.
He wrote: “But @willsmith practiced on me first, only to perform his slap at the Oscars.”
Smith later explained himself in an interview with David Letterman, who asked him why he ‘beat up a guy who was trying to hug’ him.
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Smith replied: "I didn't beat up a guy!"
He recalled: “He says, 'I'm your biggest fan, can I have a hug?'
“So I go to give this joker a hug, and he tries to lean in and kiss me!”
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Sediuk apologised to Smith afterwards, but has since tried to repeat the stunt on other celebs – including Brad Pitt, who went on to get a restraining order against him.
In January 2014, he also grabbed Bradley Cooper around the legs at the 20th Screen Actors Guild Awards, before also burying his face in Leonardo DiCaprio’s groin a month later at the Santa Barbara Film Festival.
After crawling under America Fererra’s gown at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Sediuk was fired by Ukrainian TV channel 1+1.
Topics: Celebrity, TV and Film, Will Smith, Chris Rock
Jess Hardiman