Less than a week after Chris Rock let loose on Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith in his new standup special, the Oscar-winning actor has reportedly made his thoughts on the bit clear.
A source told Entertainment Tonight, “Will is embarrassed and hurt by what Chris said about him and his family in his Netflix special. He didn’t watch it, but he had people tell him what Chris said…It’s everywhere when you look online and on social media, so Will and Jada have seen comments about it.” Oh, poor Willy, we can’t imagine the embarrassment you must be going through. And in front of an international audience, too…What a slap in the face!
The source continued, “Will apologized to Chris and would like for Chris to let it go…Will has worked on himself and he is banned by the Oscars for 10 years. He feels like that’s enough and wants Chris to move on, so that he and everyone else can too.” In other words, Will Smith feels he should get the last word, not unlike he did at last year’s Academy Awards, accepting the Best Actor Oscar—to a partial standing ovation—long after slapping Rock and taking the spotlight off of Summer of Soul, the the winner of the Best Documentary category Rock was presenting. To add to the hypocrisy, the source also noted, “Will is also upset that Netflix was a part of this and thinks Chris insulting Jada again is below the belt…He is upset that Netflix gave Chris this platform to share these messages and thinks it’s distasteful.”
For those who didn’t see Chris Rock’s Netflix special, Selective Outrage, Rock spent the last part of it addressing the Will Smith slap, putting much of the blame on his wife. “She f**king said [I] should quit because Will didn’t get nominated for Concussion. What the f*ck? So then I do some jokes about it, who gives a f*ck? That’s how it is. She started it, I finished it. Nobody’s picking on this bitch. She started this shit. Nobody was picking on her.”
Nobody should be worried about being slapped at this year’s ceremony, as the AMPAS will utilize a crisis team. Also, Will Smith has been banned for a decade for walloping Chris Rock…and it’s, uh, kind of a bad look. So, Austin Butler, if Jimmy Kimmel makes a one-off gag about your Elvis devotion, just take it in stride.
Do you think we’ve heard the last of the beef between Chris Rock and Will Smith? Whose side are you on? Let us know in the comments section below!