Jay Leno has commented that Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars was not the most “disturbing” part of his behavior. Leno told the Palm Beach Daily News this week that the actor’s explosive profanity is what most concerned him. “To me, the thing that’s most disturbing wasn’t the slap, because he was kind of smirking after he slapped [Rock],” Leno said. “It was the yelling of the obscenities. Then you go, ‘Whoa. What’s going on here? This is real anger.’”
The Last Man Standing guest star called Smith a “good guy” and, in a video interview with West Palm Beach’s WPTV News, said, “I’ve known him a long time. It wasn’t the slap that bothered me because that’s reaction. It was in the chair yelling the obscenities where you go, ‘Whoa. I mean, you had a minute to clear your head there. You should’ve taken it, and it didn’t clear,” he continued. “I know him, he’s always been a decent guy. Model citizen, good role model. There’s some emotional thing going on here, and I just hope he gets it straightened out.”
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When Rock presented an award at the ceremony, he said about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, “Jada, love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.” The Bad Boys star laughed at first, but his wife appeared unamused. He then walked up to the stage, smacked Rock, and left, later shouting from his seat, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f– mouth.”Following the incident, the King Richard star resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was banned from the ceremony for a decade. The Academy’s board is preparing to launch a formal investigation, but Leno doubts its necessity.
“What are you investigating?” the former Tonight Show host said to Palm Beach Daily News. “It had to be the most recorded assault in history. I saw the back of his shoe, I saw Chris’ ear. There were so many cameras on this incident. What are you investigating? I know sometimes things are just what they appear to be.”
The comedian also told the outlet that he has “taken politics out” of his stand-up comedy shows because “it’s so divisive. I don’t dwell on it. I find now that when you mention a candidate in a joke, the audience pauses to see which way the joke is going.”Leno added, “I find that there are an awful lot of people that I really like, but I know if we discuss politics, we wouldn’t agree. So I don’t bring it up.”
