Will Smith and Martin Lawrence appeared to subtly reference Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars slap in Bad Boys 4, which didn’t impress Chris Rock.
The scene takes place near the end of the new action film when Lawrence’s character Marcus repeatedly slapping Mike (played by Smith) to get him out of a daze after a serious showdown.
Many, as noted by TMZ, took it as Smith’s way of addressing the Oscars slap in his first major movie comeback since the controversial encounter. But sources say the scene only opened old wounds for Rock who was on the receiving end of Smith’s real-life slap.
“Chris thinks it’s a pretty cheap stunt and he’s telling people how lame he finds it,” a source told
In Touch. “It’s a classic case of Will making light of a horrific situation. Will’s playing the victim. It was the lowest point of his career, but that’s no excuse.”
Rock, who has been maintaining a “low profile” since the viral moment “finds Will’s attention-seeking nauseating,” the insider added.
“It aggravates him that people keep bringing it up. He suffered as much as Will has and now Will has turned it into a funny scene in his movie. As far as Chris is concerned, it’s more proof that Will’s a total piece of work who deserves all the crap he’s gotten. Chris isn’t going to let it go. If there’s a way to get back at Will down the line, he’ll take it.”
Smith, 55, was issued a 10-year ban from attending the Academy Awards after he stepped on stage and slapped Rock, 59, during the 2022 ceremony following the comedian’s joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
“Jada, I love you,” Chris said. “G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it.”
The joke made reference to Jada’s lack of hair, which the actress has openly admitted is a result of her battle with alopecia. The bit infuriated Smith, who got up out of his front tow seat to approach Rock and slap him on stage for all to see.
Once he returned to his seat, he shouted at Rock, “Keep my wife’s name out your f–king mouth.”
The shocking exchange occurred minutes before Smith accepted his Best Actor Oscar for King Richard, the first Academy Award in his career and one of the biggest awards of the night.
Smith eventually issued a formal apology to Rock in a YouTube video shared four months after the slap attack.
“Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” Smith said.
Rock followed up with a scathing bit aimed at Will and Jada in his 2023 comedy special Selective Outrage, which came one year after the Oscars slap. Rock said Smith’s anger was directed at him when it should have been aimed at his wife for her “entanglements.”
“His wife was f—ing her son’s friend…she hurt him way more than he hurt me,” Rock said. “Everybody called that man a b—-,” Rock added of Smith. “They called his wife a predator…And who’s he hit? Me! A n—- he knows he can beat [up].”