Bruno Mars cops backlash for Grammys smoking stunt

Singer Bruno Mars has raised eyebrows for his behaviour after winning Record of the Year at the Grammys.

It wasn’t quite on the level of Will Smith’s Oscars slap-gate controversy but Bruno Mars raised eyebrows for his behaviour at the Grammys.

The Uptown Funk hit-maker, 36, lit a cigarette on stage and started smoking after he won Record of the Year as part of R&B supergroup Silk Sonic – aka Bruno and rapper Anderson .Paak – for their song, Leave the Door Open.
On stage in Las Vegas, Mars lit the ciggie and took a drag of it as he celebrated the group’s win, after accepting the Grammy from Australian country star, Keith Urban.

The move drew criticism on Twitter, where viewers blasted Mars for smoking.

“Bruno Mars just lit a cigarette on the Grammys stage in the middle of accepting an award, can we talk about that instead of Will Smith now?,” one viewer tweeted.

Anderson .Paak and Bruno Mars of Silk Sonic accept the Record Of The Year at the Grammys. Picture: Getty Images

Bruno Mars, right, smoked on stage, drawing backlash from fans. Picture: Getty Images

Per the Daily Mail, another said: “Bruno Mars lights a cigarette on stage while accepting a Grammy. WTH?”

“I would like to see the fire Marshall fine Bruno Mars for smoking a cigarette on stage!!!!’, wrote another,” a viewer chimed in.

”Bruno Mars just sparked a cigarette well expecting his award [vomit face emoji] #GRAMMYs.”

Another simply said: “That cigarette better be fake #TheGrammys”.

‘That cigarette had better be fake!’. Viewers were not impressed by Bruno Mars at the Grammys. Picture: Getty Images

Silk Sonic continued their shock sweep of the 2022 Grammys, beating out nine other nominees to take out the coveted Record Of The Year award for Leave The Door Open.

It was their fourth trophy for the night, having earlier shocked pundits to win Song of The Year as well.

The stylish duo choreographed their trip to the podium where Mars bucked the usual health regulations and sparked up a cigarette as they accepted their award.

The 2022 Grammys had been woefully short of drama before then.

“We are really trying our hardest to remain humble at this point, but in the industry, we call that a clean sweep,” Paak said.

Originally published as Bruno Mars cops backlash for Grammys smoking stunt