It’s time to weigh in. Rosalie Rock, Chris Rock’s mother, has spoken out about seeing her son get smacked by Will Smith at the 94th Academy Awards.
“[Will,] you went and brightened her day because she was mulled over laughing when it occurred,” Rosalie, 77, told South Carolina’s WIS News 10 on Friday, April 22.
The motivational speaker told WIS’ Billie Jean Shaw that she originally assumed the interaction was manufactured until the 53-year-old Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum “started spewing obscenities” during the broadcast.
“He smacked all of us when he slapped Chris.” Rosalie expressed her delight in her 57-year-old son’s handling of the issue, saying, “He truly smacked me.” “He didn’t even get a chance to finish his sentence. Nobody could really be in the moment because everyone was wondering, ‘What just happened?'”
“I feel terrible that he never apologised,” she concluded. I mean, his staff published an Instagram post saying, ‘I apologise to Chris Rock,’ but when you see something personal, you contact out.”
During the Oscars last month, the Grown Ups star presented Questlove with the Best Documentary Feature trophy, which he won. Rock quipped during his segment that because of her shaved head, Jada Pinkett Smith, who married the King Richard actor in 1997, might feature in a hypothetical G.I. Jane sequel. (The 50-year-old Red Table Talk cohost has been open about her alopecia.) Before Smith stepped on stage and slapped Rock across the face, Pinkett Smith rolled her eyes at the statement.
“Keep my wife’s name out of your f—king lips,” the Philadelphia native said as he returned to his seat after winning Best Actor in a Leading Role during the event.
The Everybody Hates Chris alum declined to file a police report at the time, according to Us Weekly, before apologising for his behaviour.
“I’d like to make a public apology to you, Chris.” I was both out of line and incorrect. I’m humiliated, and my actions do not reflect the guy I aspire to be. “Violence has no place in a world of love and kindness,” Smith said on Instagram, in part. “I’d also want to express my regret to The Academy, the show’s producers, all of the attendees, and everyone watching across the world.”
After a thorough assessment of his actions, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which then prohibited him from attending their events for ten years. Since then, the Ali actor has accepted their choice.
“I’m OK,” the South Carolina native said during a set in Palm Springs, California, earlier this month. “I have a complete show and I’m not talking about it until I get paid.” “It’s a good life. “I was able to regain my hearing.”