Terry Crews Says Friend Chris Rock ‘Saved Hollywood’ by Keeping Composure After Will Smith Slap

“I’m grateful to Chris, but I also understand Will,” Crews said of the two, referring to them as “close, dear friends.”

Terry Crews is not taking sides in the 94th Academy Awards’ televised physical brawl between his friends Will Smith and Chris Rock.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about his upcoming biography, Tough: My True Journey to Power, the Emmy Award nominee, 53, took a conciliatory approach to the instantly iconic incident, complimenting Rock’s poise in the moment but failing to “demonize” Smith.

In a story published Friday by THR, he said, “Both Will Smith and Chris Rock are dear, dear friends of mine.” “I love them both as brothers,” she says, “but there was a period in my life when I was Will Smith, and let me tell you, I’ve done worse.”

“Simply put, the punishment was excessive and out of proportion to the crime. ‘What in the world are you doing?’ others would ask. ‘You have to promise me you would never go off like this,’ my wife had to say. It was unnecessary for you to pick this man up and place him on his head, on the concrete,’ “Crews recounted their experiences.

He even claimed that Rock, 57, “saved Hollywood” by maintaining his cool during the live broadcast when Smith, 53, struck him across the face onstage.

“When I look back on what Chris did, just deciding to hold everything together, I think it saved Hollywood in a lot of ways,” Crews told THR. “Because I’m not sure whether Hollywood would have ever gained any respect again if there had been a brawl on that platform, you know? It’s difficult to think what might have happened.”
Crews continued to compliment his old Everybody Hates Chris co-star as he reflected on his own childhood in Flint, Michigan, where he said he found himself in both Smith and Rock’s shoes on multiple occasions.
“The ability to strike, the ability to punch, the ability to set things straight, to level the score was always the definition of toughness where I grew up and the way I was,” he remarked. “But what Chris accomplished in taking a punch and then holding everything together and then displaying amazing endurance and tenacity in the face of adversities was the genuine measure of toughness.”

“What Chris performed was a miracle, in my opinion. I truly believe that. In that moment, I couldn’t believe his poise. I remember thinking to myself, “Holy cow, we owe him a lot.” I believe that every artist owes him a debt of gratitude since he single-handedly saved Hollywood at that time. I owe Chris a debt of gratitude, but I also understand Will’s position. Because I was there, I’m not one to condemn Will “Crews have been added.

In Tough, the America’s Got Talent host discusses his own traumatic experiences, including the moment he was allegedly molested by talent agent Adam Venit at a party in 2016.

“I made the decision to be in command. I made the decision to keep everything together. It had the potential to devolve into pandemonium. It would have been the end of me if I hadn’t done it “According to Crews.

Source: people.com

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