Chris Rock referenced the Oscars slap in a new comedy special. (Photo: Mark Mainz/Getty Images)
Chris Rock addressed his now infamous slap at the Oscars while on tour in Atlanta, just hours after Will Smith released an apology video.
In March, Smith slammed Rock on stage at the 2022 Academy Awards after the comedian joked about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s lack of hair, comparing her to a character from the movie GI Jane. Pinkett-Smith has been open about her struggles with alopecia areata, which causes hair loss. Rock admitted to the shocking moment during Friday’s performance on his Chris Rock Ego Death World Tour.
CNN reported that the 57-year-old said that “everyone is trying to be a victim.”
“If everyone claims to be a victim, then no one will hear the real victims. Even if I got hit by Suge Smith … I went to work the next day, I had kids,” he continued, comparing Smith to Suge Knight, the former CEO of Death Row Records, who is currently serving 28 years in prison for manslaughter.
He added: “Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.”
Earlier that day, Smith posted a video on social media apologizing to the Spiral star for the slap. The video is titled “Gone Minute” and answers questions about what happened during the March telecast.
“I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work these past few months,” reads the title card. “You asked very fair questions that I wanted to take a moment to answer.”
During the video, Smith shared that he reached out to Rock, but that Rock was “not ready” to talk.
“Chris, I apologize to you,” Smith said. “My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”
He continued, “I want to apologize to Chris’ mom,” saying he saw an interview she gave about the slap. “It was one of the things in that moment. I just didn’t realize…how many people were hurt at that moment. So I want to apologize to Chris’ mom. I want to apologize to Chris’s family, especially Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable.”
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