"Fresh Prince" Star Tatyana Ali Says Chris Rock Didn't Deserve Will Smith Slap

BYCole Blake4.2K Views
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Will Smith, Chris Rock, Slap
Tatyana Ali sides with Chris Rock against her "Fresh Prince" costar.

Tatyana Ali, who starred alongside Will Smith in Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, says that the legendary actor was wrong to slap Chris Rock at the Oscars, last month. Ali explained her position on the infamous incident with a tweet on Sunday.

"I love #WillSmith very much," Ali prefaced her post. "@chrisrock didn’t deserve to be hit. Period. My heart aches for what has happened. I don’t know what caused that chaos & confusion, but I do know that Will has a big heart. I’ve seen him many times try his best to do what is right. I believe in him."

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Ali played Smith's cousin, Ashley Banks, in all six seasons of the original Fresh Prince series.

Following the initial backlash to the slap, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.

"My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable," he said in an apology statement. "The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home."

Despite admitting wrongdoing, the slap is still hanging over Smith's career. Multiple films have reportedly stalled amidst the backlash to the dramatic incident.

Check out Ali's tweet regarding Smith's slap below.


[Via]


About The Author
Cole Blake is currently an Editor at HotNewHipHop based out of Brooklyn, New York. He began working at the site as an intern back in 2018 while studying journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s graduated with a bachelor's degree and written extensively about a wide range of topics including pop culture, film & television, politics, video games, sports, and much more. He’s also covered music festivals such as Gov. Ball and Rolling Loud. You can find him publishing work for HNHH from Monday to Wednesday or on weekends. On the sports front, Cole’s a passionate NBA and NFL fan with his favorite teams being the Indianapolis Colts and Los Angeles Lakers. He also roots for the Yankees whenever he finds himself at Yankee Stadium or the Red Storm when in the company of other SJU alumni. His favorite hip-hop artists are billy woods, Earl Sweatshirt, Cam’ron, MIKE, and Mach-Hommy.
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