Hours after Will Smith took to social media to apologize for punching Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, the stand-up took the stage to get poetic about the moment, comparing Smith to former Death Row Records director and currently incarcerated hothead, Suge Ridder.
“Everyone is trying to be a victim,” Rock, 57, said Friday night during a performance at the Fox Theater in Atlanta. “If everyone claims to be a victim, then no one will hear the real victims. Even I was beaten by Suge Smith… I went to work the next day, I had children.’
“Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face,” Rock added, according to People.
The comic is currently touring his new material as part of his Ego Death World Tour. He has also touched upon the subject during recent shows in New Jersey and New York, along with Kevin Hart.
Smith’s latest apology — as he also apologized to Rock via social media days after the incident — found the actor revealing that Rock has yet to talk to him about the moment he deems “unacceptable.”
“I’ve contacted Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk yet, but if he is, he’ll get in touch,” Smith said in the video posted to YouTube. “I’ll tell you, Chris, I apologize. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you want to talk.”
Smith, 53, also apologized to Rock’s mother and brother Tony Rock.
“That was one of the things at the time that I didn’t realize,” he continued. “I didn’t think about how many people were injured at the time. I want to apologize to Chris’s mother, Chris’ family, especially his brother Tony Rock.”
Tony, who previously worked with Smith on the early sit-com “All Of Us”, took Smith on the task of hitting his brother, leaving the Oscar winner with the impression that their relationship is now “probably irreparable”.
“Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate it when I disappoint people, so it hurts psychologically and emotionally to know that I didn’t live up to the image and impression people had of me,” he continued. “The work I try to do is I deeply repent, and I try to repent without being ashamed of myself.”