After years of silence, Rob Schneider finally talked about Will Smith’s controversial actions during the Oscar ceremony in 2022.
The comedian called the actor out for his slap on Chris Rock, and he noted that it was a dark and terrible thing that he did.
In his own statement, Rob Scheider criticized the Academy for failing to punish the actor immediately.
During the ceremony, Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett, who is Smith’s wife. The actor responded by slapping the comedian.
According to Schneider, the incident proved that Smith was not the kind of person he had portrayed on the outside.
In his statement, Schneider called the Hollywood actor a liar and referred to him as an utter fraud.
He also noted that Smith’s victim was someone who had paved the way for other people before him.
According to Schneider, slapping Rock in front of thousands of people was a dark and terrible thing to do.
He also credited the comedian for starting a new wave of comedy.
Schneider noted that without Rock’s contribution, the industry would not have been able to produce such a wide variety of jokes.
The comedian said that he decided to share his opinion now due to a sticky situation at that time.
The Oscar committee was criticized by Schneider for taking too long in addressing the matter, which resulted in a ban from future ceremonies.
Schneider noted that if he had done the same thing to Smith, he would have likely been sent to prison.
The comedian also claimed that the Academy was worried that they might be accused of being racist due to the delay in addressing the matter.
According to him, violence is a part of life, and regardless of one’s race or religion, one can get pulled out of a crowd and punished for committing a crime.
Rock took a long time to address the incident, and he refused to make any public statements about it.
In his Netflix special, “Selective Outrage,” Schneider called Smith a coward for possibly lashing out due to his issues with his marriage.
The comedian also praised Rock for addressing the matter and noted that it was a smart move by the actor.
According to the New York Post, Schneider says that he doesn’t blame Smith for what he did.
He noted that it was the right time for the incident to happen as the actor was a smart and sensitive individual. The comedian also said that he would have probably tried to kick back if he had done it to the actor.
