Yet another comedian is rehashing Will Smith’s Oscars incident and is standing by Chris Rock’s side. The comedy community has rallied around Chris Rock after he took a slap to the face during the recent Academy Awards. Smith has offered a public apology and The Academy has issued its punishment, and it will be another 10 years before the Oscar-winning actor will be able to attend any events connected with the organization. Meanwhile, Rock has yet to make a formal statement about the incident but he has touched on the topic during his shows.
While the chaos surrounding the altercation has dissipated, Jay Leno is breathing new life into the conversation by addressing the controversy during an interview with the Palm Beach Daily News. He was in the Oscars crowd when the incident occurred.
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“To me, the thing that’s most disturbing wasn’t the slap, because he was kind of smirking after he slapped [Rock],” said Leno, who also mentioned that he believes Smith to be a “good guy.” The former Tonight Show host added, “It was the yelling of the obscenities. Then you go, ‘Whoa. What’s going on here?’ This is real anger.”
Leno also didn’t understand The Academy’s reaction when they said they would be investigating what occurred.
“What are you investigating?” Leno said. “It had to be the most recorded assault in history. I saw the back of his shoe, I saw Chris’s ear. There were so many cameras on this incident. What are you investigating? I know sometimes things are just what they appear to be.”