The 'King Richard' actor's longtime collaborator weighs in on the viral incident, in which Will shockingly slapped Chris Rock onstage for joking about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
- April 13, 2022
AceShowbiz - DJ Jazzy Jeff weighed in on the Oscars slap drama involving his longtime collaborator Will Smith and comedian Chris Rock. During his appearance at the Closed Sessions Legend Conversation event at Dorian's Through the Record Shop in Chicago, Jeff defended the actor following the incident, in which he slapped Chris onstage.
"Don't get it twisted that it was something he was proud of," Jeff said in a clip taken from the event. He went on to call it "a lapse in judgment."
He continued, "I think the thing that I've realized is I don't know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should've smacked the s**t out of somebody and he didn't." The DJ added that Will is only human who would "have a lapse in judgment, he's human."
Jeff noted that people are being too harsh to the "King Richard" actor in the wake of the controversy. "And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don't think people like that are human," he shared.
Will made headlines after slapping Chris for joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head which was the result of alopecia. After issuing a public apology, the Oscar-winning actor resigned from the Academy.
In addition, he's banned from Oscar for 10 years. "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," Academy President David Rubin and CEO Dawn Hudson said in a statement on Friday, April 8.
