At this point, it feels like we’ll never hear the end of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. Everyone is sharing their opinion of what should happen to Will Smith, and comedians around the country are afraid that an angry fan will slap them during their set. Chris Rock’s brother, Tony, shared his thoughts on the matter during his most recent comedy show. Now, another of Rock’s brothers, Kenny, wants the Academy to take Smith’s Oscar away.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Kenny Rock discussed his feelings about his brother being slapped by Will Smith at the Oscars. Kenny Rock told the Times, “It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Every time I’m watching the videos, it’s like a rendition that just keeps going over and over in my head.”
He added, “My brother was no threat to him, and you just had no respect for him at that moment. You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show.” Smith hit Chris Rock after Rock joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s close-cut hairstyle. Pinkett Smith suffers hair loss due to alopecia.
Kenny Rock said his brother didn’t know about her medical condition and told the Times he would like to see the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences take back Oscar Smith’s best actor that night for his performance in “King Richard.” Days after the Oscars, the Academy announced that it had “initiated disciplinary proceedings” against Smith. Smith later resigned from the Academy and offered an apology to Rock.
David Rubin, the Academy’s president, said in a statement that the group “will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18.” During a comedy show days after the incident, Chris Rock said that he was still “processing” what had happened and plans to speak on it later.
Kenny Rock also told the Times that he felt that Smith’s apology was nothing more than a PR move, saying, “No, I don’t accept it because I don’t think it was genuine. I think his publicist and the people that work under him probably advised him to do that.” Tony Rock also said he didn’t accept Smith’s apology and said the fiasco was “foul.” As for Smith remaining in the ceremony after slapping Rock and later receiving the best actor award for his role in King Richard? Kenny, and other celebrities in attendance, believe that was a misstep on the Academy’s part.
Kenny also believes that the Academy should ban Smith from future Academy Awards ceremonies. Unfortunately, this incident isn’t something that will just go away. Everyone has their opinions on what should happen, but the decision ultimately lies with the Academy. As far as what happens between Will Smith and Chris Rock, that choice lies between them. Hopefully, they can find a way to move past this unfortunate incident.