Academy Award winner Denzel Washington spent a portion of his weekend with T.D. Jakes at his virtual Leadership Summit. During the summit, Jakes spoke to the iconic actor about his career, upbringing and faith. Over time, their conversation drifted toward an altercation that involved Chris Rock and Denzel Washington at the 94th Academy Awards.
“You stepped in the middle of World War III,” Jakes said as he referred to what took place.
During the later portion of the 94th Academy Awards, Chris Rock stepped up to the microphone with the intent of presenting Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson with his first-ever Oscar. Prior to presenting the award, Rock appeared to deliver a number of unscripted jokes. One joke, in particular, made light of Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair loss, which has been driven by alopecia. After hearing the joke, Pinkett-Smith’s husband, Will, approached the stage and slapped Rock. Upon returning to his seat, Smith told Rock to refrain from mentioning his wife in any more unscripted remarks.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, Denzel Washington was seen having a conversation with Smith. While Washington is unwilling to discuss the particular details of his conversation with Smith, he did speak about the matter from a third-party perspective.
“Fortunately there were people there, not just me but others [like] Tyler Perry came immediately right over there with me,” he told Jakes, according to The Wrap.
“Some prayers. I don’t wanna say what we talked about, but there but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn? I don’t know all the ins and outs of this situation, but I know the only solution was prayer, the way I saw it, the way I see it.”
Rock has declined to press charges following the incident. It is unclear if he and Smith have made contact since the incident.
