Women's Facebook Group Weighs In: 'Chris Rock Should Have Hit Will Smith Back'

It seems Chris Rock had his own statement to make concerning his interaction with Will Smith at the Oscars.

On Sunday night, Rock made a comment about Smith being married to “G.I. Jane,” poking fun at Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia – an autoimmune disease that causes hair loss. The “King Richard” actor shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth” before taking the stage and appearing to slap Rock.

When Smith took the stage to give his acceptance speech for Best Actor shortly after, he apologized to the Academy and to the nominees, but not to Rock himself. On Monday, Rock shared his own takes on the events that transpired.

It should be noted that the statement they shared from Rock is rumored to be fake and the source of the quote is unconfirmed.

Rock allegedly wrote, “As a comedian it can be difficult to understand which lines are to be crossed and which ones aren’t. Last night I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have and paid the enormous price of my reputation as a renown comedian.”

“Comedy is never about poking fun at or making lite of people with major ordeals happening in their lives,” he continued. “Comedy is about using real life circumstances to create laughter and bring light to an otherwise dark world.”

“With that said, I sincerely apologize to my friends Jada Pinkett-Smith, Will Smith, and the rest of the Smith family for the disrespect and disregard I displayed which was unfortunately broadcast for the world to see,” he concluded. “I hope that, with time, forgiveness can come of this situation and we can all be better, more considerate people in the end.”

The statement - which has not been confirmed to be from Rock - was shared to a Facebook group called A Woman’s Soul, where it received over 77K likes, 4.4K comments, and over 20K shares.

The top comment – with over 1.6K likes – says that Chris Rock should have hit Will Smith back after the infamous slap. “My guy! He should’ve hit Will back and he should’ve been removed,” they wrote. “No artist and comedian of this caliber deserves to be attacked on a world stage as the HOST smh Sad Chris has to be the bigger man Will deliberately didn’t apologize to Chris in that speech smh.”

“I am proud of the way you handled yourself, yes Will deserved a hit back but it wasn’t the right time or place to handle it!!!” said another.

However, most fans thought that Chris handled it the right way and didn’t think that violence was the answer.

“I respect Chris for how he handled himself after Wills immature behavior. Will should not have acted the way he did,” another wrote. “He was totally out of control and should have handled the situation in a mature way. It's never ok to strike someone.”

“Beautifully said Chris, I have much respect for your composure at being physically assaulted in one of the most public ceremonies in the year,” another wrote. “I commend you also on your public apology, well done.”

“I love the accountability on both sides!” another shared. “You both did a great job of showing other adults how to quickly take responsibility and move forward! Mistakes do not define us, no matter the severity. Mistakes are learning experiences and I'm glad to see the continued growth!”

“He has no reason to apologize. He’s a comedian. That’s what he does,” another shared. “Will should be apologizing to him. Chris could have said a lot worse about Jada and it would have been true but he didn’t. Nothing wrong with what he said. Period.”

“Leading by example, in the spotlight for everyone to see when no decision is easy to make,” another said. “Chris made handling a tough situation in front of a global audience look easy, he deserves everyone's respect.”

“I'm sorry, but he has nothing to apologize about and I have gained soooo much respect for him and how he handled it ALL even on the stage,” said another. “Jada and Will need to apologize and get an attitude adjustment. All respect I had for Will Smith is gone.”