The slap that was heard around the world – but not by police.
Rapper Killer Mike was arrested and seen being escorted out of the Grammy Awards after an alleged physical altercation with a security guard. The music star had won three Grammys at the night, including for Best Rap Album, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance.
The last time he won a Grammy was more than 20 years ago and he was ecstatic on the stage.
However, Killer Mike, real name Michael Render, was seen being led away by officers and later booked for misdemeanour battery. It’s alleged it comes following a confrontation with a security officer at the ceremony who didn’t get out of his way quickly enough. Law enforcement sources claim he knocked down a guard outside the stadium, writes Newsweek.
Los Angeles Police Department released a statement in the early hours of Monday morning: On Sunday, February 4, just after 4pm, a male adult was detained and handcuffed for a physical altercation that occurred at the 700 block of Chick Hearn Court. The suspect was placed under arrest and was transported to LAPD Central Division.”
However, fans are now questioning why Render was put in handcuffs but not Will Smith following the infamous Oscars slap with Chris Rock in 2022.
At the 94th Academy Awards, the I, Robot actor took a dislike to a joke the comedian tol onstage aimed at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Jada, who had a shaved head, had openly spoken about losing her hair after being diagnosed with health condition alopecia. However, Rock made a joke about it, saying he was excited to see ‘GI Jane 2’ – a made-up sequel in which Demi Moore shaves her hair in the first movie.
Will Smith didn’t think it was funny though, and walked towards the stage and slapped Chris Rock. The celebrity then back to his seat, in the front row, and warned the funny man to “keep my wife’s name” out of his mouth multiple times.
Later on in the evening, he won Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams in King Richard.
A few days later, he apologized to the star in a public statement on Instagram.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences then banned the Fresh Prince of Bel Air from the Oscars for 10 years.
However, reports in the following days claimed police were at the award show but Chris Rock told them he did not want to press charges.
