Rosalie Rock, the mother of comedian Chris Rock, has spoken out about the slap heard round the world that happened at the 94th Academy Awards last month. In an interview with NBC affiliate South Carolina television station, WIS of Columbia, she shared her thoughts on one of the most shocking moments in the history of the Oscars telecast.
“When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us,” she said said to the station. “He really slapped me. Because when you hurt my child, you hurt me.”” Will Smith hit Rock after he made a joke mocking Jada Pinkett Smith. She suffers from alopecia, which can result in hair loss. Rock compared her to G.I. Jane in reference to her hairstyle.
Rock, like many other viewers, initially believed the incident was staged until “[Smith] started using obscenities” at her son. Rock also said that the slap was a result of Smith appeasing his wife. “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 believed that the slap ultimately took away from Questlove’s historic Oscar win for Best Documentary Feature since Rock was the one presenting the award to him during the ceremony. “No one heard his speech. No one was able to just be in the moment because everyone was sitting there like, ‘What just happened?’”
As a result, Smith formally apologized to Rock (though Rock said he was still processing the incident) and resigned from the Academy. However, the actor was banned from attending the ceremony by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences—both in person and virtually—for the next decade. Both stars have remained relatively over the last month, though Jada teased that the incident will be addressed on this season of her talk show Red Table Talk.