Reflecting on the infamous slap-gate incident, Tony Rock, brother of Chris Rock, claimed that the joke might haven’t been the main factor that led Will Smith to slap Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards. While speaking on Big Boy TV, the comedian explained that after Chris Rock made the G.I. Jane joke, Smith was initially smiling and claimed the look for Pinkett might have been the reason behind Smith’s action.
However, while speculating possible reasons that might have pushed the Men in Black actor to this position, the comedian believes that it might have to do with his wife’s feelings for the late rapper.
Will Smith was allegedly fed up with being humiliated in front of Jada Pinkett Smith
In the podcast, Tony Rock referred to Jada Pinkett’s love for the late Rapper Tupac Shakur as one of the reasons behind Smith’s irrational actions. Considering that Jada Pinkett has been pretty vocal about her love for Tupac even after decades of his passing, Will Smith might have been fed up with being humiliated in front of his wife.
And following Pinkett’s other alleged affair that she went on to confess during an episode of Red Table Talk, Chris Rock’s joke might have been the last straw for the actor. Tony Rock said,
“I think that [Oscar Slap] was the accumulation of him being slapped on other levels. He said it himself, he always hated the ‘soft moniker.’ He’s soft, Jada won’t let 2Pac die, it’s always something about 2Pac and his daughter [Willow Smith] brought up 2Pac. And I’m not bringing up family stuff that people don’t know… this is stuff that everybody knows.”
But apart from speculating possible reasons behind the infamous act at the Oscars, Tony Rock also debunked one of Will Smith’s statements that he made after the questionable act.
Tony Rock debunked Will Smith’s statement of reaching out to Chris Rock
Although Will Smith has previously claimed that he has tried to reach out to Chris Rock and make amends to him on multiple occasions. However, according to Tony Rock, this cannot be further from the truth, as he debunked the Men in Black star’s statements and expressed that the actor never tried to contact him or his brother after the incident. He said,
“That wasn’t true, that wasn’t true. I think like, two nights later, he said, ‘I reached out to Chris, and he didn’t want to talk.’ That wasn’t true. He doesn’t owe me anything, I just thought we were better than that. My phone number has never changed.”
Even though Will Smith has previously apologized to Chris Rock, the actor hasn’t come forward to respond to any of Tony Rock’s statements. And considering that Smith didn’t open up after Chris Rock blasted him during his Netflix special, it seems that the Men in Black star is ready to leave his past behind.
Source: Big Boy TV