Chris Rock Opens Up About Getting Slapped By Will Smith

Chris Rock spoke at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta on Friday night and cracked a few jokes about his controversial exchange with Will Smith at the most recent Oscars ceremony.

The 57-year-old comedian talked about his efforts to put the incident behind him and made a comparison between the 53-year-old actor and the jailed hip-hop mogul Suge Knight.

His appearance came shortly after the King Richard actor expressed regret for his behavior in a video posted to his Instagram account.

During his show, Rock said via CNN that ‘everybody is trying to be a f***ing victim. If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims.’

The Grown Ups actor then expressed that going through the experience of ‘getting smacked by Suge Smith’ was something that he had to work through quickly.

The performer noted that, after getting slapped, ‘I went to work the next day, I got kids.’

Rock also quipped: ‘Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face.’

Smith previously shared his apology video to his Instagram account on Friday.

During the clip, he made a point of stating that he had been aware of his fans’ reactions to the incident at the Oscars ceremony. 

‘Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work…you asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer,’ he said.

The performer went on to issue an apology to the comedian for his actions during the event. 

‘Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you are ready to talk,’ he said.

He noted that he was ‘fogged out’ when he attacked the comedian and that his recollection of the event was ‘fuzzy.’ 

Smith then expressed that he was personally affected by the public’s reaction to his past actions.

‘Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down, so it hurts,’ he said.

Will Smith concluded by adding, ‘If you hang on I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.’

Smith previously apologized to Rock in a message that was shared to his Instagram account this past March.

During the statement, the actor expressed remorse for attacking the comedian. 

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