Since the events of Oscar night when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock live on stage, the two men involved in the altercation have largely remained silent. Rock has made only passing public comments and Smith had said nothing at all after an initial apology, until he recently released a video in which Smith discussed the incident at length, and apologized again. One person who has not been silent is Chris Rock’s brother Tony.
Tony Rock has voiced his thoughts about the incident on multiple occasions, going so far as to invoke Jada Pinkett Smith’s relationship with 2Pac to explain what may have been the catalyst for the slap, and has largely been more than willing to say what he thinks about the whole thing. In the wake of Will Smith’s apology video Rock was asked his thoughts once again, and he responded by taking people to task who had apparently felt he should stay quiet on the issue since it didn’t directly involve him. Rock said on Twitter…
My thoughts? All the crumbs and losers on social media repeatedly said it had nothing to do with me and I should be quiet or stay out of it. Others said I (who's been making lots of money since 1999) was commenting in an attempt to gain notoriety.
Tony Rock focuses not on the apology itself, but on people who think that he was only speaking publicly about the incident as a way to make a name for himself. The apology video itself showed that there’s a lot more going on here. Will Smith specifically mentions Tony Rock in the video, making it clear that the two men had a real relationship, one that Smith laments is likely over now.
With his name being mentioned in the video, Tony Rock sees it as something of a vindication, and there is clearly no love lost between him and those that claimed he was inserting himself in this situation. Rock continues….
Now after being mentioned personally in the video, smart people (very few on social media) will realize I wasn't just some dude on the outside looking in. There was a genuine friendship. So to all those idiots with their negative comments, You can respectfully S.M.D
While we know that Tony Rock and Will Smith had a real relationship, Smith may very well be correct that it is over at this point. Tony Rock has been more than clear that he fully supports his brother Chris in this. It seems quite clear that the majority of people think Smith was one in the wrong. Tony Rock has said the slap “eats at him” because he sees his brother get hit and can’t do anything to help. Tony Rock will certainly be continuing to voice his thoughts on this topic, as it doesn't appear to be going away anytime soon.
