The comedian also opened up about a time when he took violent revenge on one of his bullies, which left him “afraid to be angry” for decades.
Posted 2 hours ago
On Sunday, the world watched in shock as Will Smith took the stage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock in the face on live television.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Chris had joked that Will’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, had alopecia. Referring to the actor’s baldness, he said: “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Will initially laughed at the joke, but Jada – who has spoken openly about how her hair loss has affected her confidence – remained petrified as she rolled her eyes.
Chris seemed completely stunned by what had happened and barely reacted to the physical attack. As Will walked back to his seat, the comedian said, “Oh, wow. Impressive. Will Smith just blew me away.”
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Will then yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your friggin’ mouth,” at the star. Chris sounded uncomfortable as he replied, “Wow dude that was a joke by GI Jane.”
Will repeated, “Keep my wife’s name out of your damn mouth.”
“I will, okay?” Chris replied awkwardly, then tripped over his words as he tried to push the show forward by announcing the nominees for Best Documentary.
Will was seen being comforted by Denzel Washington, Tyler Perry and Bradley Cooper after the altercation, and later in the evening he received a standing ovation from the audience as he won his first Oscar.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
During his speech, he broke down in tears as he spoke about the importance of protecting your family. But by the time the afterparties rolled around, Will was in a much better mood and was filmed singing along to his own song and dancing with a bevy of fans while clutching his trophy.
👀 Watch Will Smith “Getting Jiggy Wit It” with his Oscar after meeting Chris Rock…😏😁 #shorts
On Monday, Will apologized for his behavior and said that “violence in all its forms is poisonous and destructive.” He added that what he did was “unacceptable and inexcusable,” before saying, “One joke about Jada’s health was too much for me and I reacted emotionally.”
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Will then wrote: “I want to publicly apologize to you Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I’m embarrassed and my actions were no indication of the man I want to be. In a world of love and kindness there is no place for violence.”
Chris has not publicly responded to the apology, nor has he posted on any social media platforms or made any statements since Sunday’s altercation. However, a source told TMZ that the comic really had no idea Jada had alopecia and his remark was meant to be an innocent joke about her hair. They added that Chris “doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.”
Earlier interviews revealing the star’s traumatic past have also surfaced online in recent days, with Chris previously opening up about being bullied and sexually assaulted as a child.
Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Chris said he had “just endured one horrible existence” and “every day was hell” as he took aim at his predominantly white school.
Speaking to Howard Stern about Sirius XM in 2020, Chris said, “I suffer from big ego and low self-esteem. And when I say “big ego,” it’s just for telling jokes. If it has anything to do with my work, I’m the worst motherfucker in the world, but anything else is like I don’t feel worthy of the attention, love, awards or anything.”
Reflecting on the “childhood trauma” he believes is responsible for this mindset, Chris continued, “I think I’ve dealt with it because I can joke about it, but I’ve never dealt with it . It was just a horrible existence. The closest character I can identify with is Tim Robbins in The Shawshank [Redemption]every day was hell.”
Watch this video on YouTube
youtube.com
“I was a nigger and I got my fucking ass slapped and I got physically exhausted and sometimes sexual shit happened,” he added. “I wasn’t raped, but I was raped.”
Chris went on to reveal that he recently crossed paths with one of his bullies at work. He explained, “I was doing a movie a few years ago and one of my bullies was working as security on the movie — a guy who literally turned me on my head one day at school and shook the money out of my pockets.”
“He was kind of embarrassed and I just gave him a quick look, like, ‘Hey man, I hope you’re okay, take care,’ and I kept it moving. I didn’t like: ‘Get him off the set, get him fired!’” he said.
“He could have been my friend, he could have sat in the trailer with us and seen the godfather. The fact that he had to go through the entire day, watching me walking around – I shot the film – and watching me being myself in all my glory and being so close and yet so damn far away, I had to don’t do everything,” Chris concluded.
And earlier this year, Chris revealed he once violently fought back at his bullies, which made him “scared to be angry.”
Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for PSIFF
Chris said on Fly on the Wall With Dana Carvey and David Spade in January: “Half the bullying was because I was just a little guy. Then I got a bus ride to school and the bullying was because I was a little guy and I was black. I was bullied twice.”
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
“I went home, put a brick in a book bag — it’s like a legendary story in my neighborhood — I swung that shit and hit that guy in the face with that brick and kicked him, Joe Pesci style.” Point where we thought he might die,” he added.
Victor Spinelli/WireImage
“Long story short, from that day on, as my psychiatrist puts it to me, ‘You’ve been afraid to be angry ever since,'” Chris said. “I was so afraid of my anger.”
Nbc Newswire/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images
He then said that his therapist warned him that all these years later he allowed people to brush over him because of that incident. Chris said: “This guy brought something out of you and you’re so scared of that thing coming out of you that you let the whole world wash over you. Your friends go over you, your friends go over you, your female relationships — everyone just fucks you up.”
Larry Busacca/Getty Images
Chris’ troubled past has struck a chord with some in the light of recent events, with people claiming that his experience of bullies explains why he has barely responded to the strike.
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Commenting on a resurfaced clip of the Howard Stern interview, one viewer wrote, “That’s why he shrugged it off so easily.” Another commented, “Damn dude. I was really thinking about Chris. Will is crying over there, but Chris must be feeling something too. Not just shame, but also trauma.”
Another said, “He stayed calm and dealt with it well because it wasn’t the first time he’d experienced something like this.” Another echoed, “Chris seemed so passive after the punch…Trying to make it go away.” let… Childhood shows why…”
Meanwhile, ticket sales for Chris’ upcoming stand-up tour have skyrocketed, with ticket exchange and resale company StubHub saying Monday and Tuesday saw more than 25 times daily sales from last month.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
Daily BuzzFeed
Stay up to date with the BuzzFeed Daily Newsletter!