Featured Image Credit: Credit: Alamy
Topics: Will Smith, Chris Rock, Film and TV, Oscars, Entertainment
Cameron Frew
Topics: Will Smith, Chris Rock, Film and TV, Oscars, Entertainment
Denzel Washington has now spoken publicly about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Prior to winning his first-ever Academy Award for King Richard, Smith smacked the comedian in the face on-stage and warned him to 'keep [his] wife's name out [his] f***ing mouth' after cracking a 'G.I. Jane 2' joke to Jada Pinkett Smith.
Immediately after the incident, Washington was seen talking privately to Smith off-stage with Tyler Perry.
During Smith's acceptance speech, he cited a piece of advice the Man on Fire legend gave him in that moment: "In your highest moments, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you."
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Amid the controversy surrounding Smith, which has seen him publicly apologise to Rock and resign from the Academy pending disciplinary action, Washington weighed in during an appearance at T.D. Jakes' leadership summit today (2 April).
He said (as per Variety): "Well, there’s a saying, ‘When the devil ignores you, then you know you’re doing something wrong.’ The devil goes, ‘Oh no, leave him alone, he’s my favourite.’
"Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe it’s because he’s trying to do something right. And for whatever reason the devil got ahold of him that night."
Washington didn't share any exact details of the conversation between him, Smith and Perry, but they did say some prayers.
"Fortunately there were people there. Not just me, but others, Tyler Perry, came immediately right over there with me," he continued.
"I don’t wanna say what we talked about, but there but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn? I don’t know all the ins and outs of the situation, but I know the only solution was prayer, the way I see it."
It's still unclear exactly what consequences Smith will face as a result of his behaviour. While he's resigned from the Academy, he can still be win Oscars and attend future ceremonies at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Rock officially kicked off his Ego Death World Tour, which saw a massive spike in sales in the wake of the slap.
However, while he's broken his silence on the incident, he's yet to fully discuss it.
Earlier this week, he told his audience: "I don’t have a bunch of s**t about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend.
"I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that s**t. And it will be serious and funny."
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