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Ricky Gervais defended Chris Rock’s Oscars joke in controversial fashion. The comedian, who is no stranger to provoking celebrities at awards shows thanks to his five-year stint hosting the Golden Globes, said Rock’s joke at the 94th Academy Awards that resulted in Will Smith slapping him wasn’t even that offensive. Gervais then proceeded to joke about disabilities.

Rock’s Oscars joke revolved around the comedian telling Jada Pinkett Smith he was excited to see her star in a “G.I. Jane” sequel because of her shaved bald head. Ridley Scott’s “G.I. Jane” memorably featured Demi Moore sporting a shaved head. Pinkett Smith has alopecia, which causes hair loss, and she shaved her head last December.

“You don’t hit people over a joke, however bad it is. And it wasn’t bad! That was like the tamest joke I would ever have told,” Gervais said during a...

Kenny Rock, Chris Rock’s brother, railed against Will Smith and the Academy in a new interview with the Los Angeles Times. Kenny said his brother was not aware of Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia prior to making a joke at the Oscars about her bald head while presenting the documentary feature category. The joke led Smith to come up on stage and slap Rock.

“The joke was funny,” Kenny Rock said. “It wasn’t hilarious funny, but I know that if he knew that she had alopecia … he wouldn’t make a joke about that. But he didn’t know.”

Kenny criticized the Academy for not immediately removing Smith from the Oscar ceremony after the slap. “He should have been escorted out of there,” he said. “I hold them accountable for that. He could have went up there and did anything you wanted to my brother. It could have...