Ricky Gervais reveals the Jada Pinkett Smith joke he'd have told

Comedian Ricky Gervais has revealed the Jada Pinkett Smith joke he would've told instead at the Oscars - and it didn't centre around her hair.

Will Smith, who won Best Actor for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard, walked up on stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face for making a joke about Pinkett Smith's hair.

Smith has since issued a statement apologising for his "out of line" behaviour.

And with Gervais, a five-time Golden Globe host, having made some unforgiving digs at fellow stars when he hosted the 2020 awards ceremony, fans were curious to know what he would've done.

In a report from the Mirror, Gervais, who was testing new material at a show in London's Highgate, said that he didn't have any "Will Smith material", and wanted to know why his name trended when he didn't attend the awards.

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"What has it got to do with me? People were going, 'What would have happened if Ricky Gervais had been doing it (hosting Oscars)?'" he told the outlet before saying he wouldn't make a joke about Pinkett Smith's hair.

"I would have made a joke about her boyfriend," he said.

In June 2020, Pinkett Smith made headlines when R&B singer August Alsina claimed that he was in a relationship with her. She later confirmed they were in an "entanglement."

The joke made by Rock on Sunday's Oscars was in reference to Jada's buzzcut, which she had done because she was suffering from hair loss due to alopecia. The comedian was reportedly unaware that Pinkett Smith had this condition.

However, Gervais passed a joke this week saying that he may name his new tour after the condition.

"This new material is going to be for my new show called Armageddon. I might change that to Alopecia."

During the 2020 Golden Globe awards, Gervais caused Hollywood A-listers to wince when he made jokes about Prince Andrew, Leonardo DiCaprio, and other topics such as MeToo and ISIS as he left his A-list audience wincing during his opening monologue.

"Leonardo DiCaprio attended the premiere, and by the end, his date was too old for him/ Even Prince Andrew is like, 'Come on, mate, you're nearly 50, son,'" Gervais said.

Elsewhere, if he was given the opportunity to host the Oscars, Gervais would start with a "hello" before getting into a roast about Hollywood.

"I'd start with 'Hello. I hope this show helps cheer up the ordinary people watching at home. If you're unemployed for example, take some comfort in the fact that even if you had a job, your salary probably wouldn't be as much as the goody bag all the actors have just been given," he tweeted, in part.

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