​‘Ugly’: Will Smith’s ‘mask ripped off’ ​

Chris Rock described Will Smith as “just as ugly as the rest of us.”

The comedian — who is on a UK tour with Dave Chappelle — made the comment during a sold-out show at Liverpool’s M&S Arena when Chappelle asked him about the infamous Oscars slap, reported Page Six.

“Did that s**t hurt?” Chappelle cheekily inquired, according to the Daily Mail.

“Goddamn right … the motherf**ker hit me over a bulls**t joke, the nicest joke I ever told,” Rock responded.

“Will did the impression of a perfect person for 30 years, and he ripped his mask off and showed us he was as ugly as the rest of us,” Rock continued. “Whatever the consequences are … I hope he doesn’t put his mask back on again and lets his real face breathe. I see myself in both men.”

The Saturday Night Live alum was referring to the unforgettable incident at the 2022 Academy Awards in March, when Smith, who won Best Actor for King Richard later that evening, slapped Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair.

Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia, rolled her eyes when she heard Rock calling her “G.I. Jane.” This prompted Smith to storm on stage, slap Rock and yell profanities once seated.

The Independence Day marquee star offered an apology the day after the Academy Awards.

“I was out of line and I was wrong,” he wrote in a message shared on social media. “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

In July, the actor, who had been slammed for not apologising to Rock directly, addressed his fellow actor in a video.
 

“I reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, but when he is, he will reach out,” Smith said in a video posted to YouTube. “I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

He also apologised to Rock’s mother and brother Tony Rock.

“That was one of the things about that moment that I didn’t realise,” he continued. “I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment. I want to apologise to Chris’ mother, to Chris’ family, especially his brother Tony Rock.

“I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking, but I promise you I am deeply devoted to putting light and love and joy into the world,” he concluded.

The slap led to Smith’s resignation from the Academy and a 10-year ban from all of the organisation’s events.

This article was originally published on Page Six and was reproduced here with permission