Tony Rock Says His Friendship With Will Smith Was Shattered After He Slapped His Brother Chris At Oscars: 'Wasn't Just Some Dude On The Outside Looking In'

Tony Rock says Will Smith slapping his brother Chris has virtually ended the friendship that he had with him.

After being personally mentioned in Will Smith’s apology video July 29, Tony Rock has given his opinion on Smith and their shattered friendship after Smith slapped Tony’s brother Chris at the 2022 Oscars.

Rock was asked about the apology, in which Smith said that he acknowledges he’s ruined the friendship he’s had with the Rocks, specifically Tony, with whom he described having a “great relationship” with.

On Twitter, Rock wrote about how the friendship has been broken, and how he's had to battle commenters alleging that he only expressed feelings about the slap to cash in on the popularity of the moment.

“My thoughts? All the crumbs and losers on social media repeatedly said it had nothing to do with me and I should be quiet or stay out of it,” he wrote, according to Atlanta Black Star. “Others said I (who’s been making lots of money since 1999) was commenting in an attempt to gain notoriety.”

“Now after being mentioned personally in the video, smart people (very few on social media) will realize I wasn’t just some dude on the outside looking in. There was a genuine friendship,” he continued.

In the full apology video, Smith talks about the moments after slapping Chris Rock on stage and how he's been dealing with the fallout.

“I was fogged out by that point. It is all fuzzy,” he said in the video, adding that he did reach out to the Rock camp to try to apologize.

“I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that, he’s not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you,” said Smith. “My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk. I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview [she] did, and that was one of the things I just didn’t realize. I wasn’t thinking, but how many people got hurt in that moment.”

"I want to apologize to Chris’ mother, I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable," he continued.

“I spent the last three months replaying an understanding the nuance and complexity of what happened in that moment. I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. No part of me that thinks that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insult.”

Smith also apologized to his own family, including his wife Jada Pinkett Smith, for putting them in such a precarious position.