Chris Rock’s reaction to Will Smith’s emotional video apology for that Oscars slap? A shrug and a new nickname for the “King Richard” star: “Suge Smith.”
Rock took the stage for a show at the Fox Theatre Atlanta, Georgia just hours after Smith released the video, where, according to People, he didn’t address the apology, but told the crowd, “Everybody is trying to be a f—ing victim. If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims. Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith… I went to work the next day, I got kids,” he said, referencing jailed Death Row Records cofounder Suge Knight.
“Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face,” Rock quipped during the show, which is part of his Ego Death World Tour.
In his video, in which Smith called his behavior on Oscar night “unacceptable,” he also told Rock, “I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Smith added he’d been told that Rock was “not ready to talk” and would “reach out” when he was.
For his actions, Smith did not have to give back his Best Actor Oscar statuette he won the same night, but he was banned by the Academy from attending any of its events for the next 10 years. He also resigned as an Academy member before the board handed down his punishment.
