Chris Rock’s younger brother Kenny says if the comedian had known aboutJada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia he would not have made a joke about her hair atthe Oscars.
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Moments later, Will, 53, walked onstage and struck Chris, who was initially speechless. Will shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—–g mouth!”
Kenny added of seeing his sibling being hit on live television, “It eats at me watching it over and over again because you’ve seen a loved one being attacked and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Kenny Rock/Instagram
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“Every time I’m watching the videos, it’s like a rendition that just keeps going over and over in my head. My brother was no threat to him and you just had no respect for him at that moment. You just belittled him in front of millions of people that watch the show,” he said.
When Will won Best Actor forKing Richardsoon after, he did not apologize directly to Chris in his speech, though he did the next day in a statement, admitting, “I was out of line and I was wrong.” Will explained, “Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
Said Kenny, “I might have looked at it differently had he initially apologized when he got on the stage and cried and accepted the award, but he didn’t, so, right there that tells me that it is something else.”
Chris Rock (L); Jada Pinkett Smith.Getty (2)
Will has sinceresigned from the Academyof Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, further apologizing for his actions, calling his behavior “shocking, painful and inexcusable.”
“The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” said Will, later adding, “Change takes time and I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.”
Kenny told theL.A. Timesof the apology, “No, I don’t accept it because I don’t think it was genuine. I think his publicist and the people that work under him probably advised him to do that.”
source: people.com
