Ariana Baio
Apr 25, 2022
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Chris Rock's mother, Rosalie "Rose" Rock has revealed in an interview that she too thought the slap between Will Smith and Chris was staged.
While speaking with Billie Jean Shaw on WIS South Carolina, Rock, 77, said she was home watching the Oscars with the rest of the world when the slap occurred.
"I thought it was [staged] at first until he started with the obscenities," Rock told Shaw.
Back in March, Smith stormed the Oscars stage after Chris made a joke comparing Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, to G.I Jane due to her shaved head which is caused by alopecia.
Smith slapped Chris across the face, returned to his seat, and shouted, "keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth".
"When Will slapped Chris, he slapped all of us, but he really slapped me," Rock said. "Because when you hurt my child, you hurt me."
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Rock said she's proud of the way her son handled the situation but she was still upset over the matter, especially because it caused a major disruption in the show.
"I'm really sad because Chris was so happy to be giving the award to Questlove for his Oscar," Rock said, "no one heard his speech, no one was able to be in the moment because everyone was sitting there in the moment like 'what just happened?'"
Chris Rock and his mother Rosalie Rock Jon Kopaloff / Getty Images
Following the incident, The Academy banned Smith from the award show for 10 years, but Rock did not feel this was a proper punishment because "you don't even go every year."
Smith issued an apology to Chris, however, Rock took issue with this since Smith did not deliver the apology personally.
"I mean his people wrote up a piece saying 'I apologize to Chris Rock,' but you see something like that is personal, you reach out," Rock said.
As for Chris, the comedian said he will not speak on the matter until he gets paid according to the Desert Sun.
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