Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards. Image Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
Chris Rock’s brother, Kenny Rock, recently spoke to the Los Angeles Times where he shared how he felt after Will Smith finally apologized to Chris Rock for slapping him at the Oscars 2022.
Kenny Rock shared that the altercation between Chris Rock and Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards has affected him till date from the day it happened. After Chris Rock appeared on stage to present an award for Best Documentary, he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, which Will Smith did not like, and walked up to Chris and slapped him. Will Smith on returning back to his seat asked Chris to not take Jada's name.
Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock days later in a social media statement, stating that he is apologetic and embarrassed for his actions at the ceremony. He especially mentioned Chris Rock and his family and apologized to them along with everyone else who was present there as an audience. Will Smith who also apologized to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science announced that he has resigned from the Academy which means that he has lost his voting rights for the future. But the final result of his action is still to be declared by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science, which is in the process of a formal review of Will Smith’s behavior. Will Smith in his statement shared that he is ready to accept the result of his actions from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.
In his interview, Kenny mentioned that watching the incident over and over again eats him because he was not able to do anything when someone he dearly loves was attacked on stage. Kenny Rock shared that he first heard about the on-stage altercation between the two while he was on a train from Brooklyn and a friend tried to contact him and tell him about the situation, but the signal was poor and he could not see what had happened. He admits that he has watched the video over 20 times and he does not feel good about it. Kenny went on to say that Chris Rock posed no threat to Will Smith and, at that moment, Will showed no respect for Chris and belittled him in front of the people in the audience and the millions watching the ceremony from home. (ABC’s Academy Awards drew about 16 million viewers this year.)
Kenny Rock, one of Chris Rock's six siblings, stated in an interview that he would like to see the Academy revoke Will Smith's Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard, as well as bar the actor from attending future Academy Awards.
Further, Kenny shared that he would have seen the situation from a different view if Will Smith had apologized to Chris Rock when he got on stage to accept his Best Actor award but he did not which clearly states that he did not mean to apologize to him and had not even realized what he had done to a co-actor. The brother of comedian said that he does not accept the apology because he does not feel it came from a genuine heart and maybe it was his personality and the people who worked under him that had advised him to do that.
Kenny Rock also went ahead to clarify that the joke that Chris Rock said was funny, but he added that Chris did not know about Jada having alopecia because if he had known, he would have never made that joke because he is not insensitive towards people, but Chris did not know. The actor and entrepreneur said that the authorities should have escorted the actor out of the ceremony and held him accountable for his mistake.
Chris Rock went ahead to present the award like a professional. Image Source: Complex
Will Smith’s mother also shared with CNN affiliate WPVI-TV that Will Smith is a very people-oriented person and it was the first time she saw him go off. Netflix has backed out of a project that was set up with Will Smith titled "Fast and Loose" and there is not much information available about his additional effects either.
A source close to Jada and Will shared that Jada is not happy with how Will Smith reacted to Chris Rock’s joke and that she feels that her husband overreacted in the heat of the moment. The source added that Jada did not want Will Smith to protect her because she is not a wallflower but a strong woman who can fight her own battles, but of course, she is going to stand by her husband till the end.
