Will Smith may have been right to think that his relationship with comedian Tony Rock was irreparable.
Tony was among the throng of celebrities and fans who disapproved of Smith for his striking Chris Rock in the face during the live broadcast of the Oscars in March. Smith doled out the assault when Chris made an off the cuff joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Seemingly unbeknownst to Chris, the actress had been open with the public about her struggles with hair loss after being diagnosed with alopecia.
Tony, being the younger brother of the “Spiral” actor, was greatly offended by Smith’s actions. When the “King Richard” actor issued a public apology the day after the awards ceremony, Tony was unaccepting of the gesture. Now, four months after shock value of the incident has decreased, Smith issued a second apology but this time on video.
In the nearly six-minute-long video, Smith again apologized to Chris, the comedian’s mother, fans and Tony. Smith and Tony had a longstanding friendship that dates back to their time working on the sitcom “All of Us.” The show, which was loosely based on Smith’s relationship with Pinkett Smith and his ex-wife Sheree Zampino, ran for four seasons from 2003 to 2007.
“We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man, and this is probably irreparable,” said Smith on July 29. Just under a week after the video was posted, Tony was answering questions from fans on Twitter when someone asked about his thoughts on Smith’s apology.
“My thoughts? All the crumbs and losers on social media repeatedly said it had nothing to do with me and I should be quiet or stay out of it. Others said I (who’s been making lots of money since 1999) was commenting in an attempt to gain notoriety,” Tony wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, he continued, “Now after being mentioned personally in the video, smart people (very few on social media) will realize I wasn’t just some dude on the outside looking in. There was a genuine friendship. So to all those idiots with their negative comments, You can respectfully S.M.D.”
Chris has continued to remain tight-lipped about his true feelings regarding the viral incident. At most, he has made a few jokes about being punched by “Suge Knight,” and made mention that he has no plans to delve deeper until Netflix cuts him a substantial check.
