'Just Like Will Smith': Lawyer Uses Actor's Slapgate for Defense at Murder Trial. This Happened Next

The world is not going to get over Hollywood actor Will Smith smacking comedian Chris Rock at Oscar’s for joke on wife Jada anytime soon and the slapgate now seems to have given an idea of sorts to an undertrial murder accused for his defense in the United States.

While the defense lawyer tried the “Will Smith defense” during his client’s murder trial on Tuesday, the jury didn’t buy it, The Roanoke Times reported.

Virginia lawyer Dirk Padgett told in court during closing arguments that his client, William Reno Ray, who was on trial on two counts of first-degree murder, simply “snapped” – just like the actor did when he slapped comedian Chris Rock.

“Things you wouldn’t ordinarily do you do – like Will Smith,” the report quoted Padgett as saying.

“I bet he [Will Smith] wishes he could take back,” he said, adding: “But he can’t. You can’t unbreak a stick”.

Padgett maintained his 25-year-old client similarly lost his cool when he stabbed the victim more than 20 times and killed him, then drowned another person in her own bathtub.

The lawyer even evoked former US president Teddy Roosevelt during the hearing, reciting his description of being in the heat of battle. “When the wolf rises in the heart, it is hardest to calm down,” he said.

The defense strategy, however, failed and the the jury convicted Ray on both counts in two hours, the report said. He is due to be sentenced at a date yet to be determined.

Actor Will Smith smacked the comedian during Oscar’s on Sunday over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia and shaved her head last year due to the disorder.

Chris Rock had jokingly said that Jada Pinkett Smith could star in a sequel to the 1997 film “G.I. Jane,” which starred a bald-headed Demi Moore. The moment was aired on TV as the Oscar’s were being broadcast live.

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