Marlon Wayans Believes Chris Rock Cracked The Wrong Joke On The Wrong Day

Hollywood has reacted angrily to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars this weekend, but not all of the reactions have come from individuals who know both men well. Marlon Wayans is a professional comedian who has worked in the entertainment industry for the majority of his life, and he has seen his lifelong pals alter the course of Academy Awards history over a joke.

Wayans, who has known his fellow comedian since he was 14 and the actor since he was 20, is optimistic that the two would be able to reconcile their differences sooner rather than later. At the Vanity Fair Oscars party, he told PEOPLE that he adores both Rock and Smith, describing the latter as “a classic dude.”

Chris Rock, he’s always Chris Rock; you’ve got to expect that from Chris Rock. And sometimes when you’re best friends, worst things happen and I wish it didn’t happen. … [I] hope they seek out and work it out. You’ve got to be able to crack jokes. You don’t know what somebody’s going through … he cracked the wrong joke on the wrong day. And sometimes you hit the wrong person in the wrong moment. … It was just bad timing. They definitely will [make amends], because from Chris there’s no beef at all, what’s in his heart. That was actually a light joke. Very light. So, I mean, obviously, Will’s going through something. Sometimes worst things happen on the best day, and this is one of those examples.

Smith stormed the stage during the film’s biggest night and slapped Rock for making a bald joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia. Rock appeared upset but attempted to keep the event on track, to the point where half of the internet believed the slap was staged.

Rock is said to have been ignorant that Jada’s haircut was caused by Alopecia. Smith went on to win the Best Actor Oscar and apologized sincerely for his violent outburst. Rock’s comedic style, which got him in problems with the Smiths, has always been unapologetically controversial, and the upcoming tour is likely to keep it that way.

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