OSCARS

Will Smith Apologizes To Questlove For Ruining His Oscars Win With The Slap: ‘I Can Still See Questlove’s Eyes’

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In news that you very well may have heard about, back in March, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars. A footnote from that moment, though, is that Rock was on stage to give Questlove the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, for Summer Of Soul (…Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised), a win that was of course overshadowed by what preceded it.

Well, today, Smith shared a video in which he apologizes to Rock and also to Questlove (who, like Smith, is a Philadelphia hip-hop icon). In the five-minute video posted on Smith’s YouTube channel, an upload titled “It’s been a minute…” that takes the form of a Q&A, Smith said of Questlove:

“To all my fellow nominees: You know, this is a community. It’s like, I won because you voted for me, and it really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment. I can still see Questlove’s eyes. It happened on Questlove’s award, and… you know… it’s like, ‘I’m sorry’ really isn’t sufficient.”

Questlove hasn’t publicly said much about the incident. Shortly after it happened, he shared a tweet from somebody else that read, “I think the whole Will Smith assault rattled @questlove who had to give a speech like 90 seconds later. He couldn’t even remember the names of his co-winners. #Oscars.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Patel, one of Questlove’s Summer Of Soul co-producers, wrote in part around the same time, “Once we realized the Chris Rock/Will Smith interaction wasn’t a bit, everything got turned upside down. Everyone was still trying to make sense of it when Chris persevered & started to read the nominees. I think what Will did was selfish. It robbed the category of its moment. It robbed the other excellent and amazing films of their moment to be acknowledged in what was a STRONG year for docs. And it robbed Summer of Soul and our team of our moment. Of a loud, enthusiastic cheer for a celebrated film. I feel bad for Ahmir. I feel bad for my fellow producers. I feel bad for our whole team. I feel bad for all the people watching and rooting for us. “

Today In Hip Hop History: ‘Hustle & Flow’ Soundtrack Was Released 17 Years Ago

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On this date in 2005, T.I.’s Grand Hustle Records dropped the soundtrack to the pimp juice-infused flick Hustle & Flow. The featured song, “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp,” which was produced by Three 6 Mafia, would get the Memphis crew an unprecedented Oscar for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards.

Legendary stand out singles from this classic soundtrack include Webbie’s “Bad Bitch”, featuring the Diamond Princess herself Trina, the Lil Jon-powered “I’m a King” (Remix) featuring T.I. and Lil Scrappy, and of course the movie tracks featuring Terrence Howard, who raps as “Djay” on songs like “Whoop That Trick” and the title track. The two above singles actually reached the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and U.S. Billboard Hot 100 R&B/hip-hop songs respectively.

Salute to the Grand Hustle imprint, Three 6 Mafia, Lil Boosie and Webbie, and all of the other Dirty South artists who made this soundtrack a piece of Hip Hop history!

The post Today In Hip Hop History: ‘Hustle & Flow’ Soundtrack Was Released 17 Years Ago appeared first on The Source.

Jada Pinkett Smith Wants Will Smith and Chris Rock to ‘Reconcile’ After Oscars Slap

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Jada Pinkett Smith is breaking her silence.

Two months after the Oscars, the actress is reflecting on Will Smith and Chris Rock’s relationship after the comedian made a joke about his wife’s shaved head during the ceremony, prompting Will to walk onstage and slap Rock.

Jada opened Wednesday’s episode of her Facebook series “Red Table Talk” by addressing the events at the March 27 Academy Awards and calling for healing.

“About Oscar night. My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile,” she told viewers. “With the state of the world today, we need ’em both, and we all actually need one another more than ever.”

She continued, “Until then, Will and I are continuing to do what we have done for the last 28 years, and that’s keep figuring out this thing called life together. Thank you for listening.”

She then proceeded with the episode, which was dedicated to people living with alopecia, a hair-loss disorder that Jada has openly struggled with.

“This is a really important ‘Red Table Talk’ on alopecia. Considering what I’ve been through with my own health and what happened at the Oscars, thousands have reached out to me with their stories,” she said. “I’m using this moment to give our alopecia family an opportunity to talk about what it’s like to have this condition and to inform people about what alopecia actually is.”

The Girls Trip star previously commented on the Oscars situation with a meme that read: “This is a season for healing. And I’m here for it.”

In the wake of the controversy, Will was banned from the Oscars and other Academy events for the next 10 years. “I was out of line and I was wrong,” the King Richard star told Rock in a public apology. “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

ICYMI: Chris Rock’s Mom Speaks on Oscar Slap: “When He Slapped Chris, He Really Slapped Me”

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Chris Rock’s Mom Speaks on Oscar Slap: "He Really Slapped Me"

Chris Rock‘s mom sat with South Carolina station WIS. Rock’s mom, Rose Rock, is a motivational speaker and was on hand to speak with students in Columbia. Before she did, she sat with Billie Jean Shaw for an exclusive one-on-one and talked about the viral slap moment.

“You reacted to your wife giving you the side-eye, and you went and made her day because she was mulled over laughing when it happened,” Rose Rock said.

Like many watchers, Rose Rock thought the moment was staged until Chris Rock started shouting profanities across the room once he returned to his seat. “When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. He really slapped me. When you hurt my child, you hurt me.”

Rose Rock would then add that the moment completely overshadowed Questlove’s win and the joy Chris Rock was getting by handing the illustrious drummer and filmmaker the award.

“No one even heard his speech. No one was able to just be in the moment because everyone was sitting there like, ‘what just happened?’” she said.

While Rose Rock doesn’t believe Will Smith’s Oscar should be taken away, she thinks it should have been a more severe punishment. You can hear it all from Rose below.

The post ICYMI: Chris Rock’s Mom Speaks on Oscar Slap: “When He Slapped Chris, He Really Slapped Me” appeared first on The Source.

[WATCH] Marlon Wayans Says He Reached Out to Will Smith After Oscars Slap: “You Need To Sit Down With a Therapist”

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Marlon Wayans Says He Reached Out to Will Smith After Oscars Slap: “You Need To Sit Down With a Therapist”

Marlon Wayans has been famous for a long time but will admit that he doesn’t have the pressure of his friend Will Smith. While sitting in an interview with Big Boy in promotion of his new HBO special The Headliners, Marlon revealed he called Will Smith after the infamous slap.

Wayans stated he thinks 30 years of pressure got to Smith at the moment and snapped. Wayans advocated to “check on your strong friends,” which is what he did via phone call.

“I was like, ‘Hey brother you may want to go get you about three hours of therapy,’” Wayans said. “’You need to sit down with a therapist and have a long talk. Something is going on with you.’ And that wasn’t him. See, I don’t have that kind of pressure. He’s been Black excellence for 30 years, I’ve been Black alrightness, ain’t too much pressure. People expect me to do dumb stuff, but him? Nah, not Will.”

Wayans also believed that Smith’s slap to Rock was counterproductive beyond his own career and will allow for more jokes to be made about Jada Pinkett Smith. “Everybody got a Will Smith-Chris Rock, you know, Jada joke,” Wayans said.

Wayans says he also spoke with Chris Rock to make sure that he was doing well. You can hear Marlon Wayans dive into the subject and more below.

via

The post [WATCH] Marlon Wayans Says He Reached Out to Will Smith After Oscars Slap: “You Need To Sit Down With a Therapist” appeared first on The Source.

Chris Rock’s Mom Speaks on Oscar Slap: “When He Slapped Chris, He Really Slapped Me”

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Chris Rock’s Mom Speaks on Oscar Slap: "He Really Slapped Me"

Chris Rock‘s mom sat with South Carolina station WIS. Rock’s mom, Rose Rock, is a motivational speaker and was on hand to speak with students in Columbia. Before she did, she sat with Billie Jean Shaw for an exclusive one-on-one and talked about the viral slap moment.

“You reacted to your wife giving you the side-eye, and you went and made her day because she was mulled over laughing when it happened,” Rose Rock said.

Like many watchers, Rose Rock thought the moment was staged until Chris Rock started shouting profanities across the room once he returned to his seat. “When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. He really slapped me. When you hurt my child, you hurt me.”

Rose Rock would then add that the moment completely overshadowed Questlove’s win and the joy Chris Rock was getting by handing the illustrious drummer and filmmaker the award.

“No one even heard his speech. No one was able to just be in the moment because everyone was sitting there like, ‘what just happened?’” she said.

While Rose Rock doesn’t believe Will Smith’s Oscar should be taken away, she thinks it should have been a more severe punishment. You can hear it all from Rose below.

The post Chris Rock’s Mom Speaks on Oscar Slap: “When He Slapped Chris, He Really Slapped Me” appeared first on The Source.

DJ Jazzy Jeff Defends Will Smith By Noting All The Times That He ‘Should’ve Smacked The Sh*t Out Of Somebody’ But Didn’t

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DJ Jazzy Jeff, Will Smith‘s friend and Grammy-winning collaborator, spoke for us all when he tweeted his thoughts on the Fresh Prince slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars.

Jazz has since expanded on his thoughts during an interview with Chicago radio station 107.5 WCGI (via People). “Don’t get it twisted that it was something he was proud of. It was a lapse in judgment, you know?” The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor said. “I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should’ve smacked the sh*t out of somebody and he didn’t.” Unfortunately, that 51st time was during Hollywood’s biggest night when 15 million people were watching at home.

Jazz continued:

“So, for him to have a lapse in judgment, he’s human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think people like that are human.”

Here’s a dramatic reenactment of DJ Jazzy Jeff protecting Smith from criticism:

Others (not named Billy Crystal and Jim Carrey) in the entertainment industry who have worked with Smith have also come to his defense. “To me, it’s just like, enough of it. All right, so a dramatic thing happened, but I just think we’ve got to get our priorities straight,” Bad Boys director Michael Bay said about the Slap. Would he work with Smith again? “Absolutely, 100 percent,” he replied. “He’s a very even-keeled guy.”

Chris Rock has yet to comment on the incident, and won’t until he gets paid.

(Via People)