Rock: I was hurt by Smith slap… but I’m not a victim
Chris rock has broken his silence over being slapped in the face by Will smith at the Oscars — insisting he is ‘not a victim’.
smith, 53, attacked comedian rock, 57, who was hosting the ceremony, after the comic made a joke about his wife Jada.
The angry star, who won Best Actor award for King richard only 20 minutes later, returned to his seat but shouted at rock in a clash which stunned the showbusiness world in March.
Lethal Weapon 4 star rock refused to discuss the incident previously.
But he has now told a show in New York: ‘Anyone who says “Words hurt” has never been punched in the face.
‘Yeah, that **** hurt, but i shook that **** off and went to work the next day.’
At a later gig in New Jersey, he took aim at fans being outraged and overly-sensitive on his behalf, according to Us Weekly magazine, saying: ‘i’m not a victim. i don’t go to the hospital for a paper cut.’
it was the first time rock had addressed what has been dubbed the ‘Best smacktor’ row. Men in Black star smith later apologised but has been banned from the Oscars for ten years.
in the aftermath, tickets for rock’s solo tour sold out in minutes in the hope he would talk about it.
But he told a London audience in May that his version of events would not come for free, joking: ‘People expect me to talk about the bull **** .
‘i’m not going to talk about it right now. i’ll get to it eventually – on Netflix.’
smith has also issued an apology to his former friend online, calling his behaviour ‘inexcusable’.
he said: ‘i was out of line and i was wrong. i am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man i want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.’