While confirming that Will Smith never personally reached out to Chris, Tony Rock put A-listers on blast for comforting Will but not saying a word to Chris after Oscars row.
- Apr 4, 2023
AceShowbiz - Chris Rock's brother confirms Will Smith never reached out to the comic to apologise for assaulting him at the 2022 Oscars. Actor and comic Tony Rock, 48, stood by his side of the story despite Will, 54, saying in a video in July he had "reached out" to Chris, 58, but the stand-up was not "ready to talk."
"That wasn't true, that wasn't true. I think like, two nights later, he said, 'I reached out to Chris, and he didn't want to talk.' That wasn't true," Tony - whom Will cast in his 2005 superhero comedy "Hitch" - told BigBoyTV about Will's claim.
Tony added he is also surprised Will has never reached out to him either, saying, "He doesn't owe me anything, I just thought we were better than that. My phone number has never changed. So, I just thought I'd get a phone call one day like, 'Ay, let's just you and I just talk.' It hasn't happened, so I guess it's not going to happen."
Tony also said he didn't see Will slap Chris live as he doesn't watch the Academy Awards, adding, "I don't support the Oscars, because the Oscars don't support black movies."
He said he was instead watching a basketball game when his phone started "going crazy," after Will whacked Chris for comparing his 51-year-old wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's buzzcut to that sported by Demi Moore in "G.I. Jane".
Tony added, "When your phone's starts going crazy, as a black person, you think... something bad." He also said his dad told him, "If your brother's in a fight, you're in a fight," so he wanted to come to Chris' defence. Tony added he told Chris to stay "cool" after the Oscars, and said the way the comic addressed the assault in his recent "Selective Outrage" Netflix special was "genius" as it was "calculated."
The comic also blasted A-listers for not helping his brother at the Oscars, but comforted Will, adding, "Nobody assisted my brother... I saw that Samuel L (Jackson) and Denzel (Washington) comforted Will, but didn't say anything to my brother."
It's also been reported Chris has never had a "one-on-one" private apology from Will. An insider told Mail Online in March, "Chris never got a one-on-one private apology from Will, only the public one which really meant nothing. Chris wanted to get this out once and for all and be done with it. This was very cathartic to him."
The day after he smacked Chris on the face at the Oscars for joking about his wife Jada's buzzcut, Will said on Instagram, "I would like to apologise to you Chris, I was out of line and I was wrong." In July 2022, the actor posted a grovelling video in which he told Chris, "I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
