Marlon Wayans just weighed in on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock during the 94th Academy Awards.
While appearing on a recent episode of The Breakfast Club, the Respect actor opened up about the Oscars fiasco that transpired last month, sharing that the encounter didn’t sit well with him. Wayans also expressed that the slap had touched a nerve for him, especially because Rock is so much smaller compared to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star.
Wayans said the slap was 'hard' for him to witness because both Will Smith and Chris Rock are his friends.
“They’re both friends of mine,” Wayans said. “It was hard for me. It was like watching two brothers fight. It’s hard for me because I’ve known Will 20 years. I’ve known Chris Rock since I was 12. For me, I was just like, ‘Yo.’ I didn’t know what transpired. I felt bad ’cause I’m a brother. As a brother, I felt bad for Tony Rock and Jordan. ’Cause now, Will doing that, you are questioning my loyalty.”
The actor went on to say that a “brother is the most special thing in the world.”
The actor noted that Chris Rock is much smaller in size compared to Will Smith.
“You can’t hit Chris over a joke. That’s Chris. Chris cracks jokes, that’s what he does and he too small. You play action movies, I Am Legend, you doing behind-the-back pushups, pull ups, and lifting weights. Chris plays crackheads,” Wayans said. “The heaviest thing this n***a ever lifted was a crack pipe in New Jack City. Why would you hit little Chris Rock? Now if Will slapped The Rock, I’d be like, ‘That n***a gangsta.’ You can’t hit little Chris Rock. Like I said, that’s hard for me ’cause I love them both.”
Marlon Wayans is hopeful Will Smith and Chris Rock will make amends.
Right after the Oscars aired, Wayans sat down with People at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party to talk about the slap that was heard around the world.
The actor started out by saying that he loves both Smith and Rock. He then expressed hope that the two will eventually work out their differences.
"Chris Rock, he's always Chris Rock; you've got to expect that from Chris Rock. And sometimes when you're best friends, worst things happen and I wish it didn't happen. ... [I] hope they seek out and work it out," he told the outlet.
Wayans added, “You’ve got to be able to crack jokes. You don’t know what somebody’s going through … he cracked the wrong joke on the wrong day. And sometimes you hit the wrong person in the wrong moment. … It was just bad timing.”
He ended the conversation noting that it's only a matter of time before Rock and Smith make amends and move past that controversial moment.
“They definitely will [make amends], because from Chris there’s no beef at all, what’s in his heart. That was actually a light joke. Very light,” he said. “So, I mean, obviously Will’s going through something. Sometimes worst things happen on the best day, and this is one of those examples.”
