Featured Image Credit: WIS-TV/ Alamy
Topics: Chris Rock, Will Smith, Oscars
Poppy Bilderbeck
Chris Rock's mum has addressed the Oscars incident between her son and Will Smith.
At the 94th Academy Awards, Smith didn't just take to the stage to accept his Best Actors Oscar, but also to slap Rock after he made a 'GI Jane 2' joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Rock's mum, Rose Rock, has since spoken out about the incident after seeing it take place on her television screen at home.
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In an interview with South Carolina NBC affiliate WIS TV, Rose explained how Smith only took to the stage in reaction to his wife giving him 'side-eye'.
She suggested that in Smith slapping Rock, the King Richard actor subsequently made Pinkett Smith's day 'because she was mulled over laughing when it happened'.
At first, similarly to many viewers, Rose wasn't sure if the slap was a skit, however, she soon realised it wasn't when Smith 'started using obscenities'.
She said: "When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. He really slapped me.
"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?"
Despite her son's controversial joke, Rose noted how proud she was of the way he handled the situation.
In the following days after the incident, Smith publicly apologised to both the Academy and Rock, however Rose was left far from impressed.
While she noted she 'wouldn't take his award away' and didn't see 'any good way they could have taken him out [of the ceremony] without disrupting,' she explained how she 'feel[s] really bad that he never apologised'.
Rose stated: "I mean his people wrote up a piece saying I apologise to Chris Rock, but you see something like that is personal, you reach out."
Smith has since been banned from attending the Oscars ceremonies for the next 10 years.
However, the move has faced backlash, with many calling out the controversial celebrities who have not received such a harsh punishment.
Smith has also resigned from the Academy because of the controversy around what has become one of the biggest stories of the year. The actor will still be able to accept awards.
Smith's mum similarly reacted to the incident, noting how it was the 'first time' she's ever 'seen him go off' in such a way in his lifetime.
Although she still stuck up for Smith, explaining she was 'proud of him being him'.
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