O.J. Simpson is sharing his thoughts on the wild Oscar moment everyone is still talking about, saying “it was unfortunate.”
Simpson posted a video to Twitter reacting to the moment Will Smith got up on stage and slapped Chris Rock over a joke he made about his wife at the 94th Academy Awards.
“Hey look, it was unfortunate. I think Will was wrong,” Simpson said. “Look, I understood the feeling. In my life, I’ve been through a lot of crap. I was raising two young kids and every comedian in the country had O.J. routines and don’t think I wouldn’t want to B-slap a couple of those guys, but you’ve got to accept it’s human.”
Simpson explained he “didn’t think it was all that egregious.”
He continued, “I thought it was a semi-unfunny joke, but I don’t know. I don’t get it. I know this, after what happened to me in Las Vegas if I would have done that in front of a billion people watching around the world they would have given me life without. I’m just saying. Hey, take care.”
Watch the video below:
He was wrong but I understand the sentiment. pic.twitter.com/aURe1pyubg
— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) March 29, 2022
Smith spoke out about the incident in an Instagram post, as IJR reported.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” Smith said.
Apologizing to Rock, Smith continued, “I was out of line and I was wrong. 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.”
Others shared their thoughts on the incident, including Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), as IJR also reported.
“Nothing at all justifies violence. And what we saw was violence that night, and it was just very, very disappointing. But again, let’s all extend grace. We’re all mountain ranges. We’ve all made mistakes. And the totality of who Will Smith is, who Chris Rock is was not defined by what I thought was a very unfortunate and low moment for the Oscars and all of us,” Booker said during an appearance on “The View” Tuesday.