Rob Schneider has unleashed a scathing rant slamming Will Smith as an “a**hole,” “liar,” and a “fraud” whose “nice guy” persona is completely fabricated.
The former Saturday Night Live star appeared on the Australian breakfast radio show The Kyle & Jackie O Show on Tuesday (June 11), where he revealed he previously couldn’t share his true feelings on Smith and the infamous Oscars slap incident because he was an “elected official” for SAG-AFTRA.
However, Schneider said he can now speak freely and claimed the night the Bad Boys: Ride or Die star slapped Chris Rock showed his true colors.
“Will Smith is a t**t,” Schneider said, adding, “[He] was hiding the fact of who he really is, and it was exposed that night. And he’s really an a**hole.”
“It’s a deep, dark thing to do that in front of all those people to a really great, legendary comedian, who’s literally the best comedian of our generation,” the Real Rob alum continued. “But I wasn’t allowed to say anything at that time because I was part of the committee that was supposed to punish [Smith].”
When Jackie O mentioned how she’d previously met Smith, Schneider interrupted, saying, “[And he was like] the nicest, most wonderful person, right? He’s a liar. Complete, utter fraud. It was exposed in that time.”
The hosts mentioned how Smith was under pressure at the time, but Schneider wouldn’t let him off the hook. “No, Will is a d*****bag… and the thing is, that’s how politically correct the Academy is, that they were so cowardly. Because if I’d have done that, I’d have been hauled off to prison. They were so worried about [being seen] as racist or whatever.”
After the slap, Smith remained at the ceremony and went on to win the Best Actor award for his role in King Richard later in the night.
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“The point is, violence is what it is. And whether the color of your skin or your religion, it doesn’t matter if you commit a crime in front of other people, you get hauled out of there,” Schneider stated.
When the hosts said that some saw it as Smith defending his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, after Rock made a joke about her, Schneider said that that didn’t excuse what happened. He also referred to the joke as “mild.”
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The Deuce Bigalow actor recalled hearing about the incident while he was filming Love Is Love in Mexico. “I was in a car, and my assistant director, she looked at me, and she said, ‘Huh’. I said, ‘What happened?’ and she said, ‘Chris Rock just got slapped by Will Smith.’ I said to get out of here. It didn’t happen. I make the phone calls and it did happen.”
He also noted how it took Rock a long time to process what happened and for him to talk about it. Rock eventually addressed the incident in his 2023 Netflix standup special Selective Outrage.
“I don’t blame him. But it took him a while to get to where he could react to it because it was a lot,” Schneider explained. He’s a very sensitive, great guy, and he’s literally a genius.”
Months after the slap, Smith posted an apology video on social media, where he said, “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out, so I will say to you Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
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