Steve Harvey has broken his silence on the infamous Will Smith and Chris Rock fiasco that took place during the 94th Annual Academy Awards.
Harvey, who was a keynote speaker at a Georgia State University event this past weekend, took a moment to shoot down the incident in which Smith slapped Rock. He called it a “punk move.”
He also admits that as an “undeveloped” Christian, his reaction would have been a bit different than Rock’s.
“I’m a Christian, but I’m really undeveloped. I don’t have high-level Christianity,” Steve expressed. “On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m like a 2. That’s the level of Christianity I can work on. You slap T.D. Jakes, he’ll turn the other cheek. You slap me? If you sit back in your seat, Jada would have to move out the way. That’s the type of Christian I am.”
His fellow comedy peers Cedric the Entertainer and D.L. Hughley previously weighed in on the slap. The trio makes up the four comedians known for the renowned 2000 stand-up comedy film, The Original Kings of Comedy.
The project was directed by Spike Lee and featured Harvey, Cedric, Hughley, and the late great Bernie Mac.
“Will Smith got to be celebrated. He got a standing ovation, he got to go to the after parties and get jiggy with it, and then he got to go home and write an apology,” said Hughley. “I don’t begrudge him that. But I’ll tell you this, I don’t think the offense was worth a lifetime of this.”
Cedric the Entertainer seemingly cracked a joke during an Oscars afterparty just shy of the incident.
“Don’t try to run up here, I’m smacking back,” said the comedian during the party with no direct mention of Smith or his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Will Smith has since resigned from The Academy and has been banned from attending any Academy-related events for the next 10 years.