Leslie Jones didn’t hold back in her new memoir when talking about Will Smith‘s infamous onstage slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in 2022.
In fact, she said Will should never have accepted his King Richard Oscar because of it.
The former SNL star and actress detailed her thoughts in her book, Leslie F*cking Jones, which were excerpted by People.
Explaining that Rock was “like my brother,” who championed her stand-up career and even encouraged her to audition for Saturday Night Live, Leslie said Smith’s attack, “made me so infuriated. You don’t know that I was going to jump in my car and roll up there. I was so f****** mad on so many levels.”
Further, Jones revealed Rock sought therapy after the situation. “That s*** was humiliating,” Leslie says. “It really affected him. People need to understand his daughters, his parents, saw that. He had to go to counseling with his daughters.”
Jones continued, “For a long a** time I was just mad. Chris Rock did a f****** joke. I know Will, too… I was like, you couldn’t handle that s*** afterwards? This is the Oscars. The whole world is watching.”
Moments after shocking the Academy audience with his actions and his profanity-laced outburst for Rock’s joke at the expense of Will’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, the telecast continued, and Will was presented with his Academy Award. From the podium, he apologized for his actions — but not to Rock.
That was adding insult to literal injury, Leslie contends, saying, “He could have still fixed it.” Jones says Will should have admitted, “‘I shouldn’t have did that [sic]. Bring Chris out. I can not accept the Oscar right now because that was f****** wrong.'”
Leslie’s book goes on sale Tuesday, September 19.
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