Will Smith deserves Hollywood comeback after slap – says actor’s pal Cedric The Entertainer

Will Smith deserves a Hollywood comeback after infamously beating Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, says the actor’s close friend Cedric The Entertainer.

Smith, 54, sent shockwaves around the world when he slammed Rock, 58, on stage after making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head – which resulted in a 10-year ban from the ceremony – after he had finally won the gong for Best Actor.

The Neighborhood star Cedric, real name Cedric Antonio Kyles, 59, also told DailyMail.com exclusively that he believes the couple will make up, but not in the near future.

He added that the slap was the result of a long bitter feud between the couple due to years of trouble – not just the late night joke about wife Jada.

Cedric criticized attempts to cancel Smith’s career, saying “People are people and they make human mistakes.

“So this idea of ​​cutting people out of their lives and saying they can’t or shouldn’t exist anymore, I think that’s a bridge too far. And that usually happens in the sense of blind Internet power.

“It’s people who aren’t really attached to it, who are just expressing an opinion at the moment, and then they jump on the wave and create something that comes storming at you that makes you look like the worst human being in the world.

“If it was a mistake, it was a mistake.”

He continued, “For me I think the idea of ​​calling people off for any act, if it doesn’t do something with kids, or a woman as a man, then again, if you’re just, make an act, drunk driving or adultery, all these things that people want people to cancel; I feel again that we just don’t give ourselves enough chances to be human.’

Cedric believes Smith’s attack was prompted by a longstanding problem of Rock making fun of her past career, not the one-liner about her hair.

He admitted it was “odd” timing for Smith’s mood to explode on the biggest night of his career.

But the comedian feels both men suffered from that moment.

He said, “A lot of people thought it was the joke itself, but there were obviously real undertones leading up to that kind of behavior, especially from Will Smith and from Chris Rock, to be honest.

“Ultimately as men, there’s a degree of that, because of that, they’ve both had major falls.

“One had the kind of physical experience that happened to them, and the other had the consequences of it and saw them being seen in a different way.

‘Cause we all feel like we’re tough guys sometimes, you’ll say, oh, that guy said this to me. I will do this.

“But you don’t know how someone would really react to that and whether that situation would detract from who you are.”

He also believes that both stars “suffered” from the incident, with Rock’s humiliation from the attack also affecting him mentally.

Cedric added that the bad feeling between Smith and Rock has been running deep for some time, so some kind of peace “not necessarily” will happen any time soon.

He said, “I feel like, again, some things crossed the lines, like real lines.

“I think we would like the world to be a place where we can just get over it and get past it.

“But then again, when people draw lines in the sand, sometimes you get those hard arguments that we’re going to have to deal with and maybe we’re not ready for. But I’m encouraged they’ll figure it out anyway.’

Cedric added that he’s excited that Smith is back filming blockbuster Bad Boys 4.

He believes that time will enable the two stars to make peace.

“For the most part, they’ll just keep going in a short amount of time.

“They will be able to talk about it and get through it.

“But it’s one of those things like a family fight, you just have to take it easy until someone makes some good food and we sit down and eat.” And then we’re like, ‘This is what happened. Okay. So I believe we are approaching that moment.’

In his Netflix special, earlier this year, Rock pushed Smith back for venting his anger. He said, “Will Smith is exercising selective outrage.

“Anyone who really knows knows I had nothing to do with that bastard. I had no complications.’

Rock reportedly refused to accept Smith’s apology or attempts to make peace.

Chris’s much-anticipated public reaction to Smith’s punch has been met with much praise – with some calling it the “best brutal takedown” in history.

An industry source told People that Rock “scores high because of the Netflix special.”

They added: ‘He said what he had to say and doesn’t care about the reaction anyway. He’s not worried.

“People have been waiting [Rock’s] response for a year. For the most part, I think it was well received. People don’t expect sugarcoating from Chris Rock.”

During his new Netflix stand-up special, Rock verbally hit back at Smith a year after the incident that saw Smith expelled from the Academy.

In a nearly two-minute segment, Rock fired at Smith’s decision to punch him onstage at the awards show, making Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith the butt of his joke about her infidelity.

“Everyone called him ab**ch, and who is he hitting? Me,” Rock joked to a crowd, including a friend of Meghan Markle’s who was seen laughing backstage, according to Page six.

The comedian also took aim at the former ‘Suits’ actress during his special, saying she was ‘acting totally stupid’ for not realizing that the royal family are the ‘OGs of racism’.

Rock’s tirade has since been hailed on social media as “the perfect/best way” to get back at Smith for the moment that changed both of their careers.

The comedian made spectators and live viewers wait until the last ten minutes of “Chris Rock: Selective Outrage” before addressing the clap.

“You all know what happened to me when I got hit by Suge Smith,” the comedian joked. Rock said, “It still hurts. I’ve got ‘Summertime’ in my ears.”

He brought up Jada on the show, talking about her affair and his frustration that he was the one who “brought the brunt” of the couple’s marital problems.

“Will Smith is exercising selective outrage,” Rock said, nodding to the title of the special.

“Anyone who really knows knows I had nothing to do with that. I had no complications… She hurt him much more than he hurt me.’

Cedric spoke before playing in the 16th Annual George Lopez Celebrity Golf Classic in Los Angeles. The event, featuring many stars from film, TV and music, came out to support Lopez’s long-running fundraiser.

The mission of the George Lopez Foundation is to create positive, permanent change for underprivileged children, adults, and military families facing educational and health challenges, and to raise community awareness about kidney disease and organ donation.

The funds raised will allow more than 250 children suffering from kidney disease to be sent to a summer kidney disease and transplant camp for a week.

For more information, visit https://georgelopezfoundation.org/