Source: Jon Kopaloff / Getty
Chris Rock’s mother is finally speaking out about the infamous slap laid upon her son at the hands of Will Smith during the 94th Academy Awards ceremony.
While chatting with South Carolina news station WIS-TV earlier this week, Rose Rock recalled her initial reaction after seeing the “King Richard’ star strike Chris, noting that at first, she thought it was just a joke, but after Smith began using “obscenities” she knew in her heart that something was wrong.
“When Will slapped Chris, he slapped all of us, but he really slapped me,” Ms. Rock said. “Because when you hurt my child, you hurt me.”
When asked what she would say if she were ever to cross paths with the Fresh Prince alum, the concerned mother shared:
“Oh my god, I have no idea what I would say other than what in the world were you thinking? Because you did a slap. But so many things could have happened from that. Chris could have stepped back and fallen. You really could have gotten taken out in handcuffs. You didn’t think! You reacted to your wife giving you the side-eye and you went up and you made her day because she was bowled over laughing when it happened.”
Ms. Rock explained that prior to the outburst, her son was excited and “happy” to present the award for Best Original Documentary to Questlove, who won the special category following the onstage kerfuffle. Unfortunately, The Roots drummer had his big moment overshadowed by the incident.
Ultimately, Ms. Rock said that Smith could have handled the situation better.
“You reacted to your wife giving you the side-eye, and you went and made her day because she was mulled over laughing when it happened,” she added.
Now, if you have been living underneath a rock over the last few months, Smith, 53 slapped the 57-year-old comedian at The Oscars back in March, after he made a G.I. Jane 2 joke that poked fun at the celeb’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her bald appearance. The joke struck a bad note with the actor given that Jada has been open about her struggle with alopecia- a condition that can cause permanent hair loss on the scalp or the entire body.
Weeks after the ceremony, Chris made his first appearance at a comedy show at The Wilbur in Boston, where he addressed the issue publically. The Spiral star told fans that he was “still processing what happened” and that he didn’t want to “talk about that sh–.”
Additionally, Chris’s brother Tony Rock, shared his thoughts on the infamous slap while performing at a comedy show at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina earlier this month.
“If you think you gonna to walk up on this stage, this ain’t the motherf****** Oscars!,” he told the crowd as they cheered in unison. “And if you walk your a** up here, you ain’t nominated for s*** but these motherf****** hands! Oh, we going to pop the rest of the year, n****” he joked.
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