Tony Rock Says Will Smith’s Oscars Slap Stemmed From ‘Being Slapped On Other Levels’ Surrounding Tupac Shakur [VIDEO]

July 16, 2022 by Ariel Whitely in TV with 0 Comments

Tupac Shakur, Will Smith, Tony Rock

Tony Rock Says Will Smith’s Oscars Slap Stemmed From ‘Being Slapped On Other Levels’ Surrounding Tupac Shakur [VIDEO]

Tony Rock is publicly speaking out about the infamous slapping incident between his older brother Chris Rock and Will Smith.

Tony Rock, Chris Rock

In a recent interview, comedian Tony Rock caught up with Bill Bellamy on the “Top Billin’” podcast and discussed the controversial Academy Awards moment that took place this year.

Tony Rock revealed his belief of what led Grammy-winning actor Will Smith to storm onstage and slap comedian Chris Rock over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. In a snippet of the interview, Tony, 48, ruled out the possibility of Will Smith, 53, reacting out of embarrassment.

The stand-up star instead doubled down on his stance and referred to the moment Will was spotted on camera laughing over the joke prior to the slap. It it unclear what occurred between Will laughing and the camera cutting away to Chris Rock, 57, onstage because within seconds Will was approaching. Tony revealed his theory and shared:

“Maybe it was the Jada look, but I think that slap was the accumulation of being slapped on other levels. He said it himself, he always hated the soft moniker.”

The actor went on to refer to Jada Pinkett Smith’s close relationship with late rapper Tupac Shakur as a trigger for Will’s lack of judgement. He continued:

“Jada, she won’t let Tupac die. It’s always something about Tupac and his daughter brought up Tupac and I’m not bringing up family stuff that people don’t know.”

Jada Pinkett Smith, Will Smith, Tupac Shakur

Tony added:

“As a married man to this woman, you’re like, ‘Damn, is what I’m doing not enough?’ And maybe my brother said some jokes before about them that he didn’t like. I said before, that’s what backstage is for. If there’s anything you wanna say to somebody, say it back here.”

Chris Rock’s brother, Tony Rock, talks about what may have motivated Will Smith to slap Chris. (? @billbellamy) pic.twitter.com/oFDGofkxvJ

— theJasmineBRAND (@thejasminebrand) July 16, 2022

On March 27, the world watched Will walk onto the Academy Awards stage and slap Chris, who was the host of the ceremony, on live television. Will’s outburst came quickly after Chris called Jada Pinkett Smith, 50, “G.I. Jane,” a reference to the actress’s shaved head that she rocks due to a condition called alopecia. Following the hit, the “King Richard” actor returned to his seat and shouted

“Keep my wife’s name out of your f*cking mouth!”

Will Smith just punched Chris Rock and told him "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth" pic.twitter.com/YK5aQqv89t

— BACKUP ACCOUNT (@JasmineBrandTHE) March 28, 2022

Less than an hour after the actor’s display of conduct, Will won an Oscar for his performance in “King Richard.” As a result of the physical incident, the Academy banned Will from Oscars ceremonies for 10 years.