Marlon Wayans applauded fellow comedian Chris Rock for finally addressing last year’s Oscar slap in a new comedy special, and expressed hope that Rock and Will Smith can reconcile and move on from the infamous incident.
“It was interesting to hear him talk about it. “You could tell it was a passionate performance,” Wayans said on “CBS Mornings.” “in an interview held on Monday. “What you heard was someone who was hurt, someone who was trying to heal at the time.”
In a Netflix special that aired live over the weekend, Rock discussed getting smacked by Smith. In it, he boasts about taking “that hit like Pacquiao” and implies that he was caught in the crossfire of Smith’s marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith.
Wayans, whose own new comedy special delves into the slapping incident, said he’s spoken to all three of them separately and believes Rock and Smith are still hurt.
“Will’s pain, I believe, has nothing to do with Chris. Perhaps something happened in Will’s life “He stated. “That was a flash of lightning. That brother exploded. That isn’t Will. Will has calmed down.”
If Wayans had his way, he would drag the pair into the principal’s office and tell them, “We have to stop this.”
“I never think it’s cool to hit someone. But I believe that at some point, we must not allow that to continue “He stated. “I believe that we cannot sit in pain and not come to terms with our children, our people, and the people. And I believe we can all make mistakes, but at some point… let’s sit down and talk about it.”
The “White Chicks” and “Scary Movie” star discusses his life and career through the lens of the Academy Awards incident in the new comedy special “Marlon Wayans: God Loves Me,” which just debuted on HBO Max.
He stated that he was drawn to the slap because he has known Rock since he was a child and was affected by the incident.
“I felt like I had to talk about it because it affected my journey,” he explained.
Wayans is also a guest host on “The Daily Show” this week. The show airs on Comedy Central, which is owned by CBS News’ parent company, Paramount Global.
