In the wake of the now-infamous slapping incident at the Oscars, comedian Chris Rock has kept quiet about the matter. But his brother Tony Rock? Not so much.
Tony Rock, who is also an actor and comedian, takes fan questions via social media each Tuesday. And this week, of course, many of the questions centered on one thing: Will Smith slapping his brother Chris Rock live on television during the Oscars.
And Tony did not mince words, giving a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the altercation and its fallout that differs in some key ways from what has been previously portrayed.
For starters, when asked if he approves of the apology to Chris Rock that Smith posted to Instagram, Tony Rock had a straight-forward, one-word answer, seen below.
Tony Rock said simply, "No." Well okay then!
Smith posted the apology to Rock, among others, to his Instagram account on Monday, having apologized to the Academy, his fellow Oscar nominees, and everyone in attendance at the Dolby Theatre during his Best Actor acceptance speech.
But conspicuously absent from Smith's speech was any mention of Rock, apologetic or otherwise. And according to Tony Rock, those who presume Smith has reached out to Chris Rock personally are sadly mistaken.
Asked about any private conversations between Smith and Chris Rock, Tony Rock had a similarly succinct reply: "Waiting..."
Those who watched the Oscars telecast will of course remember Sean Combs addressing the altercation while presenting an award, and he later told Page Six that Smith and Rock had reconciled, saying, "That's over... They're brothers."
According to Tony Rock, none of that is true. Asked if Diddy was lying when he spoke to Page Six, Tony had another single-word clarification: "Yep."
Rock's blunt responses to people's questions definitely caught people's attention on Twitter--and seemed to only intensify the various debates about the incident.
Chris Rock has yet to address the matter himself. But in the first stop of his new comedy tour in Boston earlier this week, he told the crowd that he is "still processing" what happened and plans to talk about it in his act soon.
