Kenny Rock, the younger brother of comedian Chris Rock, says he doesn’t think Will Smith’s apology for the infamous Oscars slap was genuine, nor does he accept it. Kenny discussed the viral moment during a new interview with the Los Angeles Times.
“It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked and there’s nothing you can do about it,” Kenny admitted. “Every time I’m watching the videos, it’s like a rendition that just keeps going over and over in my head. My brother was no threat to him and you just had no respect for him at that moment. You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show.”
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Kenny also claimed that his brother was unaware that Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, has alopecia. A joke about her hair is what originally set Smith off.
As for how Smith handled accepting his award for King Richard, Kenny was not happy.
“I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didn’t, so, right there that tells me that it is something else,” Kenny said.
In wake of the incident, Smith’s agents reportedly considered dropping him but ultimately decided against it.
[Via]