Mike Tyson Says Chris Rock Should Ve Sued The Academy Over Oscars Slap

If you ask Mike Tyson, perhaps Chris Rock should have filed a lawsuit after getting smacked on the head during the Academy Awards ceremony back in March. Live on television, Rock was infamously slapped by Best Actor Oscar-winner Will Smith over a joke told about Jada Pinkett Smith. Weeks later, it was announced Smith would be banned from Academy events for ten years, but that night, there were no consequences for Smith, as he was allowed to remain in his seat and give an impassioned speech later in the evening after winning his Oscar.

The situation generated great controversy, and to this day, people are still talking about what happened. On the Hotboxin’ with Mike Tyson podcast, David Spade appeared as a guest and spoke about the Oscars slap with Mike Tyson. Spade showed sympathy for Rock, feeling that he was caught completely off-guard by the unpredictable slap. That had Tyson questioning why Rock hadn’t taken the issue to court.

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Spade goes on to describe the situation as “troubling,” as the two had been friends, but suggests that the reason Rock didn’t file a lawsuit or press charges was that he’s the kind of person who wouldn’t want to feel like he’s “ratting someone out.” In response to people suggesting the whole incident may have been faked, Spade shuts that theory down, noting that Smith would not flush away his career for the sake of a joke that has no payoff.

DJ Jazzy Jeff Says Will Smith Would Have Smacked Mike Tyson

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It’s interesting that Mike Tyson would now speak out on the Oscars slap, as his name has been inserted into that conversation previously by one of Will Smith’s longtime friends, DJ Jazzy Jeff. There had been criticism over Smith smacking Rock with some suggesting that the actor would not have attacked someone who had posed more of a threat. DJ Jazzy Jeff said on the Faq Podcast that Tyson would have smacked anyone or anything when it came to defending his family, including Tyson.

While Tyson did not say on his podcast what he would do if he had been the one to get smacked by Smith at the Oscars, his recent comments about Chris Rock potentially filing a lawsuit might suggest that “Iron” Mike may have chosen to take that battle to the courtroom. But it’s still probably not recommended to ever attack Tyson, as one person on an airplane recently learned for himself.