Michael Blackson has a straightforward explanation for not seeing Bad Boys: Ride or Die. He hasn't "gotten over" Will Smith slapping Chris Rock.
The Ghanaian-Liberian comedian appeared on The Art of Dialogue this week, where he was asked about his thoughts on the new Bad Boys film but admitted that Smith's infamous slap still has him rattled. It was less than a year ago when Blackson was on VladTV and expressed confusion about the altercation, which occurred at the 2022 Academy Awards.
But on TAOD, Blackson gave his perspective and outright sided with Rock.
"I'm rocking with Chris Rock because I'm a comic. So I really haven't got over the slap yet," Blackson said at the 36-second mark of the video above. "So it's not really pushing me to go to the movie theater to go and see this, because as soon as I see his face I'm just thinking about [the] slap."
Blackson added that "the only way" he'll let the incident go is if Smith and Rock mend their differences, despite Smith going on an apology tour shortly after assaulting Rock.
Blackson insisted that if Rock can "forgive" Smith, then all comedians could, also claiming that "50 percent of comedians" still take issue with the Oscar-winning actor.
"Don't get me wrong, we love Will Smith. He's our guy and all of that stuff, but I think what happened there was, he probably just thought he was invincible, he could do whatever he wants, he's Will Fucking Smith" continued Blackson.
Acknowledging that Smith laughed at Rock's joke, which was made about Smith's wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, that something "just clicked" for the Emancipation actor to storm onstage.
"Maybe when Chris Rock and him could make up, then I can be like, 'Okay, if Chris forgive him, then we all okay with it,' but right now, 50 percent of us feel that way about the slap."
Blackson also likened Smith to a bully, explaining that he was "sucker punched" on the school bus in Newark, New Jersey due to having good grades. "Because of that, I looked at Smith as a bully, Chris Rock is a comedian we're allowed freedom of speech, we're allowed to say whatever we want [when] telling a joke on somebody," said Blackson. "That does not give you [the] right to go and hit them. You hit somebody when they hit you."
Later in the segment, Blackson detailed Rock witnessing Dave Chappelle being confronted at the Hollywood Bowl that same year and blamed Smith for starting the trend.
