George Lopez weighs the drama of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars likening it to a divorce.
Lopez – who is said to be a member of the academy – told PEOPLE the incident was like “deciding which parent you want to live with”.
The comedian-actor added that he’s “staying with my dad and Chris Rock.”
Lopez, 60, has been a longtime friend of Rock, 57, and spoke about the support he receives, saying: “He has a lot of great friends.”
Opinion: Academy member George Lopez says Will Smith and Chris Rock’s slap drama is ‘like deciding which parent you want to live with’
Support: The comedian and actor added that he “stays with my dad and Chris Rock” (pictured together in 2009)
Jackie Chan, Will Smith and George Lopez together in 2010 in Los Angeles
‘I think what Wanda Sykes said about that [The Ellen DeGeneres Show] was very, very powerful. They’ve been friends for a long time, and a comedian never really wants to show their vulnerability,” he said.
“And I could tell from Wanda that it affected her deeply that one of her best friends was hit like that.”
He was also asked about the current status of the comedy in light of the incident, to which Lopez replied, “Well, in the last five or six years, nobody could use a joke.”
Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars on Sunday after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith apologized on Monday
According to the report, Lopez is a “Member of the Academy” of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
It was reported on Thursday that Smith, 53, had not been asked to leave by the academy, contrary to conflicting reports.
Yesterday, Oscars co-host Wanda Sykes slammed the academy, calling her actions “disgusting” for allowing Smith to stay at the theater on Sunday night after he hit Rock, a performance she said she felt “physically ill”.
“It was disgusting,” Sykes said of Ellen in a television interview. “I felt physically ill and I’m still a little traumatized by it.”
Smith stunned audiences at the Dolby Theater and millions of TV viewers at Sunday night’s Oscars when he marched onto the stage and slapped Rock after the comedian made a cheeky joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who had spoken publicly about her hair loss and alopecia .
As Smith returned to his seat, the ‘King Richard’ star yelled at Rock, ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your (eloquent) mouth.’
Less than an hour later, Smith won the best actor award for his portrayal of Richard Williams – father of tennis legends Serena and Venus.
Sykes told Ellen that she was returning to the theater from her trailer when the slap happened. She said: “When I got to the monitor backstage, I just saw Will leave the stage and all was quiet. And I was like, ‘What happened, what happened?!’”
Sykes added that watching the video replay made her nauseous. And said she was shocked when Smith was allowed to stay in the theater to collect his Oscar and enjoy the rest of the show.
After hitting Rock, a now visibly angry Smith returned to his seat and began repeatedly yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out of your frigging mouth”. Lupita Nyong’o’ was among those left baffled by what had happened, as many initially believed such an egregious act must be part of the show
Smith sobs as he accepts his best actor award and apologizes for the violence – but doesn’t apologize to Chris Rock
Sykes told Ellen during the interview that Smith should have been removed from the building immediately after he hit Rock.
“For them to let him stay in this room and enjoy the rest of the show and accept his award… I thought, ‘How gross is that?’ She said.
“That’s just the wrong message. You attack someone, they escort you out of the building, and that’s it.
“But the fact that they let him continue was disgusting. I wanted to be able to walk out after his win and say, “Sorry, Will couldn’t be here tonight…”