Damon Dash called Will Smith a “villain” for slapping Chris Rock over a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head at the Oscars.
In an interview with Page Six, which was published on Tuesday (March 29), the co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records was dumbfounded by Smith’s violent behavior at the 2022 Academy Awards on Sunday night (March 27).
“I will tell you this—10 years ago, five years ago, one year ago, if I ever heard that Will Smith got up and smacked somebody I would not believe it,” he said. “It’s almost like when a superhero turns into a villain or when a wrestler goes from being a good guy to the bad guy.”
Dame went on to describe Smith’s actions of slapping Rock across the face as a metamorphosis that happened within the actor’s demeanor.
“It is almost seen as the shift of Will Smith,” the industry veteran explained. “It is like he’s sick of being a good guy I guess. Will is tired of being a punk and he exploded and Chris Rock got it.”
Dame, who is the CEO of his entertainment company Dame Dash Studios, believes that Smith should seek out therapy for whatever issues he’s dealing with inside of himself.
Will Smith slaps Chris Rock onstage during the show at the 94th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre at Ovation Hollywood on Sunday, March 27, 2022.
“[He’s] also internalizing a lot of trauma that he didn’t recognize and he overreacted to other things that bothered him,” he told the publication. “So more than likely I could say he could use a little therapy because he lost control of his emotions.”
“The world is a different place,” Dame continued. “I know if that was me and Kanye [West] I would’ve walked out in cuffs and Kanye would’ve walked out in a straight jacket.”
Despite Smith’s violent behavior, the Philadelphia rapper still won Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. A day after the incident, the Hollywood star issued a formal apology for his actions.
“Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive,” reads his statement released on Monday night (March 28). “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.”
He continued: “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. 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. I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.”
“I am a work in progress,” the 53-year-old thespian concluded.
Meanwhile, Dame initially thought the Smith-Rock altercation at the Oscars was a stunt because security didn’t rushed to the comedian’s aid or even attempted to restrain the now-Oscar-winning actor.
“I thought they was playing…all the police at the Oscars and security and he ran up on Chris like that,” he said, flabbergasted over the shocking moment. “I did not think they were serious. They couldn’t been serious. If they were serious, man if it was real where’s the police?”
“If I smack somebody at the Oscars on TV I wouldn’t even been able to sit back down,” Dame Dash added.
Overall, Dame doesn’t condone Black people getting violent with each other, especially on such an international platform as the Oscars stage.
“Showcasing us as a culture fighting is not a good thing,” he stated. “I never been a fan of other cultures judging us and us being so happy for their approval.”
Dame concluded: “There’s a lot of times I wanna smack a lot of muthafuckas. I never walked up on the stage and smack somebody and then got a standing ovation the next fucking second.”
Questlove, who won Best Documentary for his film Summer of Soul, just moments after Smith’s infamous slap, reportedly felt “odd” accepting his Oscar trophy directly following what had just happened.
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