Chris Rock Bluntly Scorns Will Smith’s Oscar Slap Apology Video

The slap that echoed on the internet for months after it was first laid by Will Smith on Chris Rock, still has quite the controversial discussions surrounding the event. Chris Rock has finally commented on the apology video Smith posted in July, asking the forgiveness of Rock and his fans.

At the Oscars 2022, Will Smith, in a momentary lapse of judgment and rage, slapped Chris Rock after the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada. The slap reverberated through the internet and The Academy took action against Smith, banning him from the event for ten years.

Smith resigned from The Academy later on and released a six-minute apology video on YouTube in March, four months after the infamous incident. The video was titled “It’s been a minute…” and contained Smith’s emotional apology to The Academy, his fans, Chris Rock, and Rock’s family.

Smith disclosed that the incident had sparked “a lot of thinking and personal work” on his end. The Oscar winner also added that he had personally messaged Rock with an apology, but “the message that came back was that he’s not ready to talk.”

Chris Rock is currently traveling with Dave Chapelle for their stand-up tour. At his recent show in the O2 Arena, the comedian responded to the video by referring to Will Smith as Suge Smith and saying, “F*** your hostage video.” The Suge reference can be traced back to Suge Knight, currently in prison for voluntary manslaughter.

The reference and the comment are indications enough that Rock is not over the humiliation and contempt that accompanied the slapping incident. The comedian’s show was chock-full of references to the slap, and clearly, he is nowhere near being “over it.”

The comedian has also rejected The Academy’s offer to come back and host the event next year. In a retort to the Academy’s offer, he made a controversial comparison to Nicole Brown Simpson returning to the restaurant where she was murdered.

While this unforgettable event will haunt the two artists for a longer time than thought, Rock has no intention of being in the same room as Smith, and neither accepts his apology. Both the artists will not be returning to the 2023 Academy Awards show. It remains to be seen if and how the infamous incident will be mentioned at the event.

Source: Deadline