DJ Jazzy Jeff, Will Smith‘s former rap partner and co-star in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, is the latest celebrity coming to his defense in the wake of him slapping Chris Rock during last month’s broadcast of the Oscars.
“Don’t get it twisted that, you know, this would be something that he’s proud of. It was a lapse in judgment, you know?” Jeff, whose real name is Jeffrey Townes, told Chicago radio station WGCI-FM. “And I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should’ve smacked the s*** out of somebody and he didn’t. So for him to have a lapse in judgment, he’s human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think people like that are human.”
Smith struck Rock, who was presenting an award, after he made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. He said that she would be in G.I. Jane 2, because of her shaved head; she struggles with alopecia. The shocking moment divided celebrities and viewers alike.
Michael Bay, Smith’s Bad Boys director, and another Fresh Prince co-star, Tatyana Ali, are two people who also came to his defense, although they thought his actions were wrong.
Smith has apologized. “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” he wrote on social media. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally. I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions are not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Rock himself, who declined to press charges, has said that he won’t be talking about the incident until he gets paid for it.
Still, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, who presents the awards show, announced Friday that it has banned Smith from its events for 10 years. They did not strip him of this year’s Best Actor award for his turn in King Richard, which he won following the slap.
