Tyler Perry Says He De-Escalated Situation After Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock: Being Friends With Both Of Them Has Been Difficult

Tyler Perry Says He De-Escalated Situation After Will Smith Slapped Chris Rock: Being Friends With Both Of Them Has Been Difficult 

Tyler Perry made it clear that he’s not taking anyone’s side pertaining to Will Smith’s infamous Oscar slap.

On Sunday (March 27) actor Will Smith, 53, walked on stage during the 94th Oscars ceremony and slapped Chris Rock for making a G.I Jane joke about Jada Pinkett Smith. Chris Rock was belted in response to Jada Pinkett Smith shaving her head due to her battle with alopecia. Will Smith returned to his seat shouting “keep my wife’s name out of your f*ck*ing mouth!” Later that evening Smith won “best actor” for “King Richard” and apologized to everyone except actor and comedian Chris Rock, 57, during his acceptance speech.

In a recent interview with Gayle King, actor Tyler Perry expressed how difficult it was trying to console both Chris Rock and Smith after the altercation. 

Tyler Perry

Tyler Perry, 52, explains:

“There’s a difference between comforting and deescalating, that’s number one, and I left early to get to Chris to make sure he was okay. Being friends with both of them has been very difficult.”

Perry continues:

“I was there, close up. I left early to go check on Chris because it was wrong in no uncertain terms, and I made sure I said that to Will, and I’ll tell you, when we walked over to him, he was devastated. He couldn’t believe what happened. He couldn’t believe he did it. And I’m looking at this man in his eyes going, ‘what are you doing? This is your night.'”

Perry adds:

“And to get all the way to this moment, winning an Oscar, that was one of the crowning moments of his career that he wanted so desperately. And to have something like that happen, I think he is very much in reflection of trying to figure out what happened.” 

Perry reflects:

“And trust me, as painful as it was for all of us in the room, it was as painful for Chris, who was a pure champion for the way he handled it, but I want you to understand that something happened that was extremely painful for Will as well. That is no excuse. He was completely wrong for what he did. But something triggered him — that is so out of everything he is.”

Since then, Smith has been banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years. He can still be nominated and/or receive awards.

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