Rob Schneider has taken aim at Will Smith, saying that the actor showed the world his true colors after he struck Chris Rock at the Oscars back in 2022.
Smith stormed onto the stage of the event and hit Rock across the face after he cracked a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head. At the time he reportedly was unaware that it was as a result of an autoimmune disease.
Commenting on the ordeal during an interview on Australian radio's "The Kyle & Jackie O Show" on Wednesday, Schneider said Smith "has been hiding the fact of who he really is and it was exposed that night that he's really an [expletive]," according to Newsweek.
"But it's a deep, dark thing to do that in front of all those people and to a really great legendary comedian who's literally the best comedian of our generation. You wouldn't have this whole wave of comedy that came after if it wasn't for Chris Rock. He's kicked open the doors," Schneider said.
"But I wasn't allowed to say anything at that time because we were part of the committee that's supposed to punish him," he continued, adding that Smith is "a liar" and "a complete, utter fraud."
And it was exposed in that time," he added.
Schneider went on to criticize the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which hosts the Oscars, for not taking immediate action against Smith.
"Will is a dou------. The thing is that's how politically correct the Academy is. That they were so cowardly. Because if I would have done that, they would have [had me] hauled off to prison, but because they were so worried about being racist or whatever, they were like. 'We can't offend,' " he said.
"But the point is, violence is what it is. And whether the color of your skin or your religion, it doesn't matter if you commit a crime in front of other people, you get hauled out of there."
Shortly after the incident, Schneider said he reached out to Rock, who "didn't want to talk to anybody" about the incident at the time.
"I don't blame him. But it took him a while to get to where he could react to it because it was a lot. And he's a very sensitive, great guy and he's literally a genius," Schneider said. "And so just trying to figure out the right way at the right timing because I would have said something. I'm an idiot, I would have tried to kick back."
Smith has since resigned from the Academy. He was also banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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