The 'Tragedy of Macbeth' actor is among the stars to console the 'King Richard' leading man after he smacks the comedian in the face at the 2022 Academy Awards.

• Apr 3, 2022

AceShowbiz - Denzel Washington has finally broken his silence on the drama involving Will Smith and Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. When weighing in on the matter, "The Tragedy of Macbeth" actor insinuated that we are not entitled to "condemn" the "King Richard" star's action.

Denzel offered his two cents during a panel at pastor T.D. Jakes' annual International Leadership Summit on Saturday, April 2. "Well, there's a saying, 'When the devil ignores you, then you know you're doing something wrong,' " he said, per Variety.

"The devil goes, 'Oh no, leave him alone, he's my favorite,' " the father of John David Washington continued. "Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe it's because he's trying to do something, right? And for whatever reason, the devil got ahold of that circumstance that night."

"Fortunately there were people there. Not just me, but others, Tyler Perry, came immediately right over there with me. [Said] some prayers," he added. "I don't wanna say what we talked about, but there but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn? I don't know all the ins and outs of the situation, but I know the only solution was prayer, the way I see it."

Will smacked Chris in the face after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. In the wake of the incident, Denzel, Tyler and Bradley Cooper approached the "Aladdin" actor to comfort him.

Despite the shocking moment, Will won the best actor award at the Sunday, March 27 event for his portrayal of Richard Williams in "King Richard". During his acceptance speech, he gave a shout-out to Denzel who gave him a quote, "At your highest moment, be careful, that's when the devil comes for you."

Earlier this month, Will announced his resignation from the Academy. The organization itself said they accepted his plea and will move forward with disciplinary proceedings for his Oscars slap.

"We have received and accepted Mr. Will Smith's immediate resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences," David Rubin, President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said in a statement on Friday. "We will continue to move forward with our disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Smith for violations of the Academy's Standards of Conduct, in advance of our next scheduled board meeting on April 18."