Perhaps no one felt more hurt by that infamous slap heard 'round the world at the Academy Awards than Rose Rock, mother of comedian and actor Chris Rock. At the annual ceremony in March, Will Smith was present as a nominee for Best Lead Actor for his role in King Richard when things suddenly took a turn. Chris Rock had joked about Jada Pinkett Smith, leading to Will smacking Rock on the head and screaming profanities at him for the joke.
In a new interview with WIS-TV, Rose Rock opened up about the unfortunate situation. She says her son is still processing what happened because of how surreal it has been for him to be at the center of it all. She also says that when Smith slapped Chris, he was giving a metaphorical slap to the face to everyone else watching, and that it was especially painful for her to see as Chris's mother. Here's what Rock said when asked how her son is doing.
"He is doing well. He's still processing, because that's not something you expect. But, my thing is, at that moment, and I told him, 'You were standing squarely on the shoulders of Sidney Poitier,' because that was someone we all looked up to... When Will slapped Chris, he slapped all of us, but he really slapped me. Because when you hurt my child, you hurt me... You can't do anything. There's nothing you can do. I couldn't reach out to him at that point, there was nothing to do. And it's a hard thing for a mother. No matter how old they are, they're still your baby."
Rock says she's never met Smith, though she notes how Chris's brother Tony had worked with him in the past. When asked what she would say if she were to have a conversation with Smith, here's what Rock said.
"Oh my god, I have no idea what I would say, other than, 'What in the world were you thinking? Because you did a slap, but so many other things could have happened from that. Chris could have stepped back and fallen. You really could've got taken out in handcuffs. You didn't think. You were reacting to your wife giving you the side-eye, and you went up and made her day, because she was bowled over laughing when it happened.'"
Rock seems to be referring to a viral video that shows another angle to the infamous Oscars slap, which shows Jada Pinkett Smith laughing after Rock remarked how Will Smith "smacked the s***" out of him.
Rose Rock Isn't Impressed With The Academy's Punishment
It was announced by The Academy that Will Smith will be banned for the next ten years from attending the Oscars, although the actor would still be eligible to be nominated during that time. Rose Rock doesn't feel that the punishment is a big deal for Smith, who remarked that Smith doesn't "even go every year" anyway. Still, while she doesn't feel that the ban is a sufficient punishment, she does feel that Smith should keep his Best Lead Actor award for King Richard. She also understands why Smith wasn't forcibly removed after the incident, as many people watching say should have happened.
"I wouldn't take his award away, and I don't see any good way they could have taken him out without disrupting. So, I'm really, really proud of the way Chris handled it. And I'm really sad because Chris was so happy to be giving the award to Questlove for his Oscar, and no one heard his speech. No one was able to just be in the moment, because everyone was just sitting there, like, 'What just happened?'"
As far as Chris Rock and Will Smith making amends, Rose Rock says that will be up to them to decide. She takes issue with Smith not offering an apology to Rock during the Oscars and instead releasing a written statement online, which she says was written by "his people." In any case, the bad blood still seems to be present, and for now, Chris Rock hasn't publicly accepted the apology.