Terry Crews is best known for being on the right side of the law in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, but he has recently confessed to feeling empathy for Will Smith in the now infamous Oscars’ slap incident. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Crews said; “let me tell you, I’ve done worse than Will.”
In the candid interview, in which Crews was discussing his upcoming memoir entitled Tough, he was frank about being on both sides of incidents similar to the scuffle between Will Smith and Chris Rock. “Both Will Smith and Chris Rock are dear, dear friends of mine. I love them both as brothers, but there was a time in my life [where] I was Will Smith at that moment and let me tell you, I’ve done worse than Will.”
He continued, saying it was; “way overkill, just … the punishment did not fit the crime. Like people were like, ‘What in the world are you doing?’ My wife even had to be like, ‘You got to promise me you will never go off like this. You did not need to pick this man up and put him on his head, on the concrete.'”
Crews also mused about a time when he was in the same position as Chris Rock; “The time that I was Chris was the time that saved my life. These things are tough — the definition of toughness where I grew up and the way I was, it was always the ability to strike, the ability to punch, the ability to set things straight, to even the score. But the true definition of toughness was what Chris did in taking a punch and then holding everything together and then showing tremendous endurance and resilience in the middle of obstacles.”
Crews continued; “I think it was a miracle what Chris did. I really do. I couldn’t believe his poise in that moment. I thought, holy cow, we owe him a lot. I think every performer owes him so much because it just really saved Hollywood in that moment. I’m very thankful to Chris, but also I understand Will. I’m not [one] to demonise Will at all because I was there.”
The 2022 Oscars ended up providing more drama than we bargained for, but then they are supposed to be a celebration of dramatic movies. Check out our guide to the best drama movies – many of which are Oscar winners.