Chris Rock's Brother Absolutely Slams Will Smith's Oscar Punishment
Standing up for his brother! Kenny Rock — Chris Rock's younger brother — is speaking out in defense of his brother and slamming the Academy and Will Smith for their actions post Oscars slap.
Since Smith marched on the Oscars stage and slapped Rock for a joke made a Smith's wife's expense, the fallout for Smith has been swift. On April 9, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences officially announced that Smith has been banned from the Academy Awards for the next 10 years. In a statement, the Academy said Smith is not allowed to attend any events or programs, whether that be in-person or virtually, per Page Six. Smith had resigned his position from the Academy a week before the announcement, and following the news said that he "[accepts] and [respects] the Academy's decision," per CNN. Smith will keep his Oscar despite being banned.
But now, Kenny is speaking out on why he thinks Smith being banned from the Oscars for 10 years is not enough and what he thinks his brother deserves in terms of an apology.
Kenny Rock wants Will Smith's Oscar taken away
Will Smith's actions post-slap are not enough for Kenny Rock, Chris Rock's younger brother, as seeing Smith slap his brother on stage "eats away" at him.
"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," Rock told the Los Angeles Times. Rock added that his older brother did not know his joke regarding Jada Pinkett Smith — who suffers from alopecia and shaved her head — starring in a "G.I Jane" sequel would hurt Pinkett Smith's feelings. "The joke was funny. It wasn't hilarious funny, but I know that if he knew that she had alopecia ... he wouldn't make a joke about that," Kenny said, "But he didn't know."
Following the slap, Smith went on to receive the award for best actor. During his tear-filled speech, the "King Richard" star vaguely mentioned his actions by apologizing to the Academy and his fellow stars. But he never directly apologized to Chris. That is why Kenny is calling for Smith's Oscar to be taken away in addition to barring him from the Academy. "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," Kenny said.
Kenny Rock doesn't believe Will Smith's apology was genuine
Following the slap, Will Smith took to Instagram the next day to apologize for his actions. "My behavior at last night's Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. 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," he wrote. Smith then apologized to Chris Rock saying he was "out of line" and "wrong." But Kenny Rock doesn't accept Smith's apology, saying that Smith has not reached out to the family personally.
But whether Kenny takes the Academy's apology seriously or not is something Kenny didn't mention. In the announcement banning Will Smith from the Oscars, the Academy expressed their "deep gratitude to Mr. Rock for maintaining his composure under extraordinary circumstances." While Chris maintained his composure, following the slap, the Academy did have the Los Angeles Police Department prepared to arrest Smith at the ceremony. Chris decided not to press charges, per CNBC.
But despite Chris' lack of comment or decision to press charges, his brother says what the Academy and Smith have done to remedy the situation is still not enough for him. Talking about Smith, Kenny said, "He could have went up there and did anything you wanted to my brother. It could have been much worse than what he did."
The Academy's actions post-slap bother Kenny Rock
Since the slap, the Academy has come under fire for their action — and lack of action — regarding Will Smith. One of the biggest points of criticism has come from whether or not Smith was asked to leave the ceremony.
Following the incident, the Academy has maintained that leadership spoke with Smith's team asking him to leave — though insiders claim otherwise. One source even noted that Smith was never even afforded an opportunity to "refuse" to leave, per the The Hollywood Reporter. Insiders added that, at the Oscars, no one from the Academy directly spoke with Smith following the incident. And while the Academy maintains their stance, in their statement explaining they asked Smith to leave, they added that they "could have handled the situation differently" — something Kenny Rock believes they could have too.
"He could have been escorted out of there," Kenny said about Smith, "I hold them accountable for that." While Kenny is upset with the way the Academy handled Smith's actions post-slap, he ultimately says this moment falls on Smith's shoulders. "In my opinion, he embarrassed himself by doing that and his legacy by doing that," he further added.