Chris Rock still hasn’t received a personal one-on-one apology from his former friend Will Smith for the infamous Oscars slapgate — and feels the actor’s public mea culpa “meant nothing.”
The 58-year-old comedian sparked serious controversy this week when he rekindled the scandal during a Netflix stand-up special in which he dealt a humiliating blow to 54-year-old Will, a year after the sensational awards ceremony.
Chris accused Will of “selective outrage” during the show’s finale and added salt to the wound by repeating Will’s wife Jada’s affair. But a source close to Chris tells DailyMail.com that it could have been avoided with a simple “sorry.”
“Chris never got a one-on-one private apology from Will, just a public apology that really meant nothing,” insisted a source close to the comedian. In fact, Will has only raised the situation twice — once on Instagram the day after the Oscars and once in a video apology.
Chris Rock has still not received a personal one-on-one apology from his former friend Will Smith for the infamous Oscars slapgate, a source has revealed to DailyMail.com.
The 58-year-old comedian sparked controversy this week when he ramped up the slapgate scandal (seen) in a new Netflix stand-up special, dealing a series of savage blows to Will, 54
But the insider insisted Chris’s decision to rehash the scandal on his Netflix show had nothing to do with seeking revenge, but rather was a way for the comedian to “get it all out” and be “done with it.” to be’.
“Chris wanted to get this out there once and for all and get rid of it. This was very cathartic for him,” the source added.
The comedian certainly didn’t hold back when it came to dredging up the slapgate scandal on stage.
Instead, he doubled down on his attack on the A-list couple by bringing up Jada’s admitted affair with her son Jaden’s close friend, musician August Alsini, 30, in 2020.
To a shocked audience both live and on location, Chris said Will had misdirected his anger over the fact that “his wife fucked her son’s friend.”
And to make matters worse, Chris’s humiliating backlash aired exactly one week before the 2023 Oscars are set to take place on March 12 — an event Will won’t be allowed to attend for the next decade due to his violent outburst at the ceremony of last year.
However, the insider responded to claims that Chris had some hand in the timing of the Netflix special, telling DailyMail.com, “Netflix decided when to run this, not Chris.”
Aside from joking about Jada’s affair, Chris also took aim at Meghan Markle during his special, saying that Meghan was “acting totally stupid” for not realizing that the royal family are the “OGs of racism.”
This caused social media users to lash out at Chris, accusing him of being racist for bringing up the sensitive topic.
In his Netflix special, Chris brought up Jada’s affair – something she openly discussed with her husband on a 2020 episode of her talk show Red Table Talk (seen)
Jada had the fling with her son Jaden’s close friend, musician August Alsini, 30. They are pictured together at the 2017 BET Awards
Chris’s inner circle vehemently disagreed, telling DailyMail.com, “Chris isn’t racist at all. Nothing could be further from the truth.’
“Chris is a black man who makes fun of other black people from a black’s perspective. He has nothing but love for black people – and for all people.’
The infamous clap happened in March 2022 when Chris took the stage to present an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Turning to Will and Jada, he said he was “looking forward” to seeing Jada in GI Jane, making fun of her shaved head.
Will immediately got on stage and gave Chris a sock in the side of his head. After returning to his front row seat, he yelled, “Keep the goddamn name of my wife’s mother out of your mouth.”
In the weeks that followed, Will was forced to resign from the Academy, which then banned him for 10 years.
On his Saturday night stand-up special, Chris shared his afterthoughts, telling the audience, “Anyone who says words hurt has never been punched in the face. But I’m not a victim, honey. You’ll never see me cry at Oprah or Gayle.”
“Everyone called him ab**ch, and who is he hitting? Me. You all know what happened to me when I got hit by Suge Smith,” Chris joked. ‘It still hurts. I’ve got ‘Summertime’ in my ears.”
Chris then explained why he didn’t hit Will back, saying, ‘You know what my parents taught me? Don’t fight in front of white people.”
Chris also lashed out at Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, targeting their interview with Oprah and their claims that a king was concerned about their children’s skin color
Chris told the audience on Saturday, “Like, who is this girl Meghan Markle? Seems like a nice lady – she just complains. For example, didn’t she enter the lottery for fair skin?’
The day after the attack, Will took to Instagram to apologize to Chris, writing, “I want to apologize to you Chris, I had gone too far and I was wrong.”
The only other apology came in July 2022, when Will posted another video apology to Chris, saying, “I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here if you want to talk.’
In a new report published by Peoplea source close to Will said he’s “tried in vain to make it up to Chris as best he can” — though the source close to the comedian says those efforts didn’t stop calling him personally.
Chris also blasted Meghan and Harry during his routine, targeting their interview with Oprah and their claims that a royal family had reportedly raised concerns about their children’s skin color.
Like, who is this girl Meghan Markle? Seems like a nice lady – she just complains,’ Chris said.
“Like, didn’t she enter the fair skin lottery?” Chris jokingly said that the royal family are the “OGs of racism.”
Chris poked fun at Meghan for telling Oprah during their sit-down interview that she didn’t know the royal family was racist when she married Harry.
“That’s the royal family, you didn’t google those bastards? They are the original racists. They invented colonialism,’ Chris joked to the crowd.