People have flocked to social media to speak out against The View's Halloween costume design based on the incident at the Oscars between Will Smith and Chris Rock.
It's fair to say a hell of a lot has happened in 2022 - it's certainly going to be one for the history books. With so many terrifying things having occurred across the globe, ABC's talk show, The View, had a plethora of options to choose from when designing some children's Halloween costumes.
If UK-inspired, there was the option of dressing up as a lettuce which lasted longer than former British Prime Minister Liz Truss, and if US-based, why not dress up as Elon Musk armed with a sink on his first day at Twitter or I'm sure there are plenty of options for Donald Trump?
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Alas, The View decided to go down an alternative - and more controversial - path.
The View's Halloween episode yesterday (31 October) saw an outfit based on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscar's after Rock made a 'GI Jane 2' joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
While Smith swiftly apologised for his behaviour after the event and was banned from Academy events for the next 10 years, it seems like his punishment isn't over just yet and people won't be forgetting about the incident anytime soon.
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Before revealing the controversial design, The View presented a kid dressed up in an inflatable suit with money taped to the sides to represent 'inflation' and another dressed as Donald Trump along with classified documents in the loo, as the 'Mar-a-Lago raid'.
It then showed the 'Oscar's Slap' outfit - a child dressed head-to-toe in gold as one of the event's awards, with a painted red handprint on the side of their cheek.
Ashley Alderfer Kaufman - the talk show's wardrobe supervisor - announced the costume, saying: "We do not want to endorse violence of any kind, but we couldn't help but talk about one of the hottest hot topics this year.
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"So, we have our interpretation, we have an Oscars statue, we call this 'The Oscars Slap,' and he has a red face paint on the statue."
Despite Kaufman's explanation, the 'Oscar's Slap' attire has received extreme backlash online.
One Twitter user said: "Bad taste on the Oscar slap. You did validate violence Ashly. #Theview."
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"The Oscar Slap is a hot topic for Halloween on the view? Next time just pass on this suggestion! otherwise great Halloween costumes! #theview," another wrote.
A third commented: "The Oscar Slap? Really? (rolls eyes)."
LADbible has contacted The View for comment.
Topics: Will Smith, Celebrity, Film and TV, Oscars, US News
Poppy Bilderbeck