Though it’s been three years since Will Smith famously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, it’s clear the shocking incident is still on he and his brother Tony Rock’s minds. And they’re both speaking out about it.
During an interview with E! News at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on Sunday (March 2), Chris was asked whether or not he’d entertain the possibility of coming back to host the Academy Awards now that some time has passed since the infamous moment. In case you were living under a rock at the time, back in 2022, Smith walked onstage and assaulted Chris after he made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett and her bald head.
As a result, the “Fresh Prince” star was banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years and has since apologized publicly to Chris for his actions.
Speaking to E! on Sunday, the “Everybody Hates Chris” creator said, “The most miserable people on earth are people that can’t forgive. And not just people, you have to forgive yourself sometimes. So, hey, you never know. I live in forgiveness. True love starts at forgiveness.”
But while Chris seemed poised and ready to let bygones be bygones, his brother Tony is still out here looking for revenge. In fact, he said as much during a recent standup set right before the Oscars. In the now viral clip, Tony can be heard telling the crowd that there was one last thing he needed to do on this Earth and that was to “get Will Smith.”
“Oh y’all thought that sh*t was f*cking over, that sh*t ain’t f*cking over! I’m just laying low right now, that sh*t ain’t f*cking over,” Tony began before later adding: “We ain’t forget. Motherf*cker hit my brother, don’t nobody hit my brother but me! Don’t nobody hit my brother but me and even I gotta clear that sh*t with Mommy first.”
Tony went on to share how he saw his brother two days after the incident and while he checked on him initially, he immediately criticized him for not ducking or dodging the blow.
“N***a, you have not been out the hood that long that you forgot how to slide on a motherf***er...he didn’t slide, he stood there like a f*cking lawn jockey,” Tony said.
While hilarious, Tony also made it clear that if he was there in the building he and Smith would’ve been fighting after witnessing the assault.
“The Oscars would’ve went to commercial and never came back,” he said.
Hmm. One brother out for revenge and the other out for forgiveness? We guess it’s safe to say that if Chris ever does get invited back to host and he takes the Academy up on it, his opening monologue will be one to remember.