Many celebrities have given their take on Will Smith’s slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars, but few have as close of a relationship to Smith as DJ Jazzy Jeff, whom he came to prominence alongside as part of the legendary rap duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince. Having remained relatively mum on the topic, Jazzy Jeff recently spoke on the matter during an appearance on Closed Sessions Legend Conversation, defending his longtime friend’s actions while noting that the incident was out of character.
“Don’t get it twisted that it was something he was proud of,” Jazzy Jeff said of Smith’s actions. “It was a lapse in judgment, you know? I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that [have] had the least amount of lapse[s] of judgment than him. I can name 50 times that he should’ve smacked the s**t out of somebody and he didn’t. So, for him to have a lapse in judgment, he’s human. And I think a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think people like that are human.”
Smith, whose altercation with Chris Rock remains a hot topic online and beyond, has received considerable backlash in the wake of the incident, with the Academy recently banning the Best Actor winner from all its events for 10 years. To add insult to injury, various platforms are reportedly pulling out of projects he’s associated with.
Watch the clip of DJ Jazzy Jeff’s Closed Sessions Legend Conversation below.