Chris Rock‘s mother has spoken out about the slap her son took from Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards, blasting the actor’s actions.
Rose Rock, an author and motivational speaker, spoke to WIS-TV in South Carolina about the incident, in which Smith took to the stage and slapped Rock after he told a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her shaved head.
‘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,’ Rock said.
Rose Rock said she watched from home and initially thought the incident was staged until Smith began to say ‘take my wife’s name out your f–king mouth.’
‘When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. He really slapped me.’
Chris Rock’s mother Rose Rock has spoken out about the slap her son took from Will Smith at the 2022 Academy Awards, blasting the actor’s actions
Rose Rock, an author and motivational speaker, spoke to WIS in South Carolina about the incident, in which Smith approached the stage and slapped Rock after he told a joke regarding Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, and her shaved head
‘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,’ Rock said of the incident
Rock said that her son was excited to present the award for Best Documentary Feature to friend Questlove (though Rock couldn’t know that The Roots’ drummer was going to win ahead of time) and that Smith’s actions ruined his speech.
‘No one even heard his speech. No one was able to just be in the moment because everyone was sitting there like, ‘what just happened?’
The Academy banned Smith for 10 years for his actions. Rock seemed to think this was appropriate.
‘I wouldn’t take his award away, and I don’t see any good way they could have taken him out without disrupting,’ she said.
Smith apologized via Instagram, which Rock found less than convincing.
Rose Rock said she watched from home and initially thought the incident was staged until Smith began to say ‘take my wife’s name out your f–king mouth’
‘I feel really bad that he never apologized,’ she said. ‘I mean his people wrote up a piece saying I apologize to Chris Rock, but you see something like that is personal, you reach out.’
Smith was all smiles as he landed in India Saturday – where he was seen for the first time since the infamous Oscar’s slap.
Smith was pictured touching down in a private airport in Mumbai, where he was greeted by adoring fans who he took snaps with.
Smith is reportedly in India to meet spiritual leader Sadhguru, who Smith and his family met with back in 2020 in Los Angeles.
Dressed casually in a white t-shirt, dark grey shorts over white compression tights and a pair of Nike sneakers, Smith looked relaxed and happy after landing in the South Asian country.
As staff helped him unload his things from his vehicle nearby fans excitedly scream ‘Will, Will Smith!’
Smith then takes a couple of selfies with security and turned to the fans yelling his name, giving them a wave while flashing a smile before continuing to take a few more selfies and entering a building where he gives someone a hug.
This is the first time Smith has been spotted in public nearly a month after slapping master of ceremony and comedian Chris Rock on live TV and in front of his co-stars after he n made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s buzzcut.
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Smith was pictured touching down in a private airport in Mumbai where he was greeted by adoring fans who he took snaps with
A happy fan gives Smith the thumbs up as he arrives in Mumbai. As staff helped him unload his things from his vehicle nearby fans excitedly scream ‘Will, Will Smith!’
Dressed casually in a white t-shirt, dark grey shorts over white compression tights and a pair of Nike sneakers, Smith looked relaxed and happy after landing in India
Smith looked in high spirits as he waved to adoring fans calling out his name as he touched down in Mumbai on Saturday
Smith took the time to chat to security members helping him as he exited his cars, taking multiple pictures
After waving at fans and taking a few pictures, Smith entered the building where he greeted someone with a hug
Jada has been open in the past about her struggles with alopecia.
After the slap, Will returned to his seat and screamed ‘keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth’ twice.
The slap divided Hollywood and the public, with some insisting he should be stripped of his Oscar and not be rewarded for violence, while others said he was standing up for his wife.
Several film projects that Smith had been involved in were put on hold since the controversy, including a sequel to the actor’s 2017 sci-fi action thriller ‘Bright’ directed by David Ayer, which was cancelled by Netflix, Bloomberg reported.
Smith’s National Geographic nature series, ‘Pole to Pole’ which follows the 53-year-old star to the North and South Poles, and was set to begin filming in three weeks, has been paused until fall 2022, the news outlet reported.
Additional projects Smith had lined up that have been getting smacked down, include a movie for Sony that has been delayed and another Netflix project for the ‘Fast and Loose’.
Netflix was in the midst of finding a new director for the film after David Leitch left the film ahead of the Academy Awards.
The Sony film, ‘Bad Boys 4,’ which had started pre-production before the awards ceremony, was also put on hold.
Amid mounting pressure, Will resigned from the Academy and issued an apology to Chris Rock, who has not publicly responded.
But two weeks after awards night, the Academy issued the actor with a ten-year ban from all of its events, while issuing a statement blasting his ‘unacceptable’ and ‘harmful’ behavior.
‘During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry,’ the Academy’s statement read. ‘This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.
‘The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, Mr. Smith shall not be permitted to attend any Academy events or programs, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Academy Awards.
Smith is reportedly in India to meet spiritual leader Sadhguru, who Smith and his family met with back in 2020 in Los Angeles
Smith said he was a huge fan of Sadhguru and had followed him since reading his book ‘Inner Engineering’ and wanted to introduce the guru to his family
Following their meeting Willow Smith revealed that Sadghuru helped her through an ‘existential crisis,’ saying she was filled with ‘gratitude’ for this moment
‘We want to express our deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances. We also want to thank our hosts, nominees, presenters and winners for their poise and grace during our telecast.’
After the decision was reached Smith released a statement saying: ‘I accept and respect the Academy’s decision.’
The actor had already resigned from the Academy when the ban was issued.
Smith’s documented one of his meetings with Sadhguru at his LA home in 2020.
The yogi, 65, whose real name is Jaggi Vasudev and who owns an Ashram in India, started his own non-profit spiritual foundation and has more than three million followers on Twitter.
Smith said he was a huge fan of Sadhguru and had followed him since reading his book ‘Inner Engineering’ and wanted to introduce the guru to his family.
‘I wanted my family to meet spiritual people, to start interacting with people who are not hooked on the material world,’ he said.
In a clip shared to Smith’s social media, Sadhguru is seen pulling up to the actor’s home on a motorcycle and chatting with him and his daughter Willow.
Sadhguru tells the group: ‘In any area of life, those who are most successful are always the most miserable people because they get to the top of the world and the top of the world doesn’t feel like the top of the world.’
‘What happened yesterday they’re suffering today. Are you suffering life or your memory? You’re just suffering your memory,’ he tells an attentive Smith.
‘What may happen tomorrow you already suffer. You’re suffering your imagination!’
Following their meeting Willow Smith revealed that Sadghuru helped her through an ‘existential crisis,’ saying she was filled with ‘gratitude’ for this moment.