Tony Rock claims that Will Smith has done little to make amends with him or his brother, Chris Rock.
Nearly a year has passed since Chris was slapped by Will at the Academy Awards after making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head amid what she says is a journey of living with alopecia. Chris unleashed on the movie star and his wife in a 10-minute rant during his live broadcasted Netflix special “Selective Outrage” last month, after remaining relatively silent for months.
The move, according to Tony, was calculated and allowed the “Everybody Hates Chris” creator to speak about the infamous incident on his own terms. However, in a recent interview, Tony did more than offer his thoughts on how his big brother publicly handled the spectacle. He also revealed that the public has heard more apologies from the Oscar winner than him or Chris.
“‘ I reached out to him; he didn’t want to talk.’ That wasn’t true, that wasn’t true,” said Tony about Will’s alleged attempts to express regret to Chris. “I think like two nights later he said, ‘I reached out to Chris and he didn’t want to talk.’ That wasn’t true,” recalled the stand-up comic during the interview with Big Boy.
Will issued his first public apology to Chris hours after he slapped the actor. “I would like to apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” he wrote in an Instagram post last March. Five months after the awards ceremony, in August, Smith addressed the viral moment on camera in a video where he apologized to fans and again to Chris.
“Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” he said. At that time, Will also claimed that he reached out to Chris, but the message he received was that the comedian was not ready to hash things out and that he would reach out at a later date.
“He doesn’t owe me anything, I just thought we were better than that,” added the “Three Can Play That Game” actor. “My phone number has never changed. So, I just thought I’d get a phone call one day like, ‘Aye, let’s just you and I just talk.’ It hasn’t happened, so I guess it’s not going to happen.”
Both Rock brothers shared years-long relationships with Will. As Chris stated during his special, he had been a fan of the box office star and supported his endeavors throughout his entire career.
Tony’s friendship with the former “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star dates back to working on the series “All of Us.” The show was loosely based on Will, Jada and his ex-wife Sheree Zampino’s blended family. Tony said that Will handpicked him to be a part of the series.
“We was friends,” he said. “We hung out on set, we talked on set, we ate, we had lunch together, we talked about family and friends.” Even Will made mention of his bond with Tony in his video apology, where he stated it was probably irreparable.
At this point, Tony noted that he has no idea what the future holds as it pertains to Will and Chris. “But you know, listen, he did what he did, he said what he said. I don’t know where it’s going from here,” he said. Despite the turmoil, he was certain of one thing: Both men would continue to be successful.
