Chris Rock was spectacularly slapped by Will Smith eventually yr’s Academy Awards, but it surely’s the Duke and Duchess of Sussex who could possibly be getting their very own smackdown on the 2023 Oscars.
A public relations expert believes that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could also be roasted by big names on the ceremony, set to happen this Sunday, March 12, in Los Angeles.
While the privacy-conscious couple won’t be in attendance on the glitzy event, PR guru Matt Yanofsky said there’s a superb probability they’ll still be referenced on Hollywood’s big night.
“Meghan and Harry aren’t any longer untouchable within the US,” Yanofsky, who runs marketing and publicity agency The Moment Lab, told The Mirror on Friday.
He said the recent “South Park” episode ridiculing the exiled royals “ripped the Band-Aid off” for people to poke fun on the pair.
“‘South Park’ is a show that’s grandfathered into popular culture. No one is canceling it, and it has a history of claiming what everyone thinks but is scared to say,” Yanofsky said.
“By satirizing the couple, they’ve given other people permission to finally say what they give thought to Meghan and Harry, as we saw similarly with Chris Rock’s stand-up special.”
It’s unclear whether the Sussexes — whose popularity has plummeted — are nervous about being the butt of potential Oscars jokes, whether by host Jimmy Kimmel, award presenters or winners themselves.
The Post has reached out to their representatives for comment.
In a February episode titled “The Worldwide Privacy Tour,” series co-creator Trey Parker mercilessly mocked Harry and Markle, implying that they were desperate for attention while publicly pleading for privacy.
The episode took particular aim at Prince Harry’s recent memoir, “Spare,” which was re-titled “Waaagh” within the cutting cartoon.
Although there have been rumors that Harry and Markle were set to sue over the episode, reps for the pair trashed those reports, saying they were “baseless” and “boring.”
Nonetheless, pundit Megyn Kelly claimed the couple would “never get well” from the very public ridicule.
“I feel it is a pronouncement that they’ve jumped the shark, they should not beloved and her hopes of running for president, reported hopes, are all but dashed,” Kelly said. “That’s not happening. When ‘South Park’ activates you, there’s no recovering.”
Indeed, the hits have kept coming because the “South Park” episode aired.
Chris Rock ripped into Markle in his recent Netflix special “Selective Outrage,” which hit the streamer last week.
The comic expressed exasperation at the previous actress’ implication that some members of the royal family were racist.
“It’s the royal family!” Rock remarked within the special. “You didn’t Google these motherf–kers? What the f–k is she talking about, ‘She didn’t know’?! That’s like marrying into the Budweiser family and going, ‘They drink lots.’”
The star also blasted Markle for claiming a member of the family expressed concern about how dark her baby’s skin color could be.
“That’s not racist,” Rock insisted. “Because even black people wanna know the way brown the child is gonna be!”
Yanofsky said it’s unclear which celebrity might hit out at Harry and Markle on stage during Sunday’s Academy Awards.
He also isn’t sure how, exactly, they’d skewer the Montecito-based couple.
“It’s 50/50 in the event that they joke concerning the couple [on Sunday] or in the event that they start mocking Meghan and Harry in five years,” he said. “It’ll be interesting to see what happens.”
