'A snap moment': Marlon Wayans hopes Chris Rock and Will Smith will reconcile after Oscars slap
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Marlon Wayans made an appearance on CBS Mornings recently, and talked about the infamous 2022 Oscars slap between Will Smith and Chris Rock. He praised Rock for addressing the matter in his new comedy special. "It was good to hear him speak about it. You could tell it was passionate," said Wayans on Monday, March 6, about the comments Rock, 58, made in his Selective Outrage special. "What you heard was somebody that was hurt, somebody that was finding their way to heal at that moment", he added.
Wayans, in his own HBO Max comedy special ‘God Loves Me,’ had talked about the incident as well. While expressing thoughts on the infamous incident from the Oscars last year, the 50-year-old said it was ‘uncharacteristic’ behavior on Smith’s part, "I think Will's hurt has nothing to do with Chris," Wayans observed. "Maybe something that's happened in Will's life. That was a snap moment. That brother snapped. That's not Will. Will's composed." He continued, "I don't think it's ever cool to hit somebody. But I do think that at some point we can't let that just sit there. I think for our children, for our people, for the people, that we just can't sit in pain and not come to terms. And I think we can all make mistakes, but at some point... let's sit down and come to the table and fix this."
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'In their art, they don't ask me'
When he was asked whether he reached out to either of the stars before composing his comedy special, the ‘Scary Movie’ actor replied, "In their art, they don't ask me, 'What do you think of this?' I think as artists, we all do what we do. Especially because it's such a sensitive subject, I didn't want their opinions." He also added what he aims from his special episode, "I just hope they gauge and trust that I love them. That I'm being objective. I'm being honest. I'm being real. And that the purpose of this is more healing than it is deconstruction," reports People.
'He had the worst moment'
Wayans in March 2022, told THR that Rock and Smith will fix their differences eventually, and he wanted to address the importance of mental health by releasing his special. "When you're these idols in people's eyes, we don't have any license to fail. And what you saw was [Smith] fail. That can happen to any and every one of us under these pressures. He had the worst moment on the best day of his life."