O.J. Simpson: ‘I understand’ why Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at Oscars

nypost.com:

now-notorious Oscars 2022 “Hitch” slap, claiming that while he thinks the actor was “wrong,” he understood “the sentiment.” The infamous “Juice” tweeted histhoughts Tuesday in a now-viral video with nearly 900,000 views as of Wednesday morning.Simpson, 74, was referring to the incident that occurred at the Sunday’s Academy Awards, when the 53-year-old best actor winner for “King Richard” smacked Rock, 57, for cracking a divisive bald joke about his wife Jada Pinkett- Smith, who’s been open about her ongoing struggle with alopecia.“Hey look, it was unfortunate,” said the former Buffalo Bills running back. “I think Will was wrong.” Nonetheless, Simpson said he “understood the feeling,” explaining: “In my life, I’ve been through a lot of crap and I was raising two young kids, and every comedian in the country had an O.J.

routine, and don’t think I wanna be slapped a couple of those guys.”He was wrong but I understand the sentiment. pic.twitter.com/aURe1pyubgThe “Naked Gun” actor was likely referencing the wisecracks that swirled on “Saturday Night Live,” late-night talk shows and everywhere else in the ’90s during his trial for the murders of estranged spouse Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman — charges for which he was eventually acquitted.However, at the end of the day, Simpson believes “you gotta accept that it’s humor.”“I didn’t even think that [Chris Rock’s Joke] was all that egregious,” he said. “I thought it was a semi-unfunny joke.”In addition, the former advertising spokesman claimed that if he would’ve pulled the same stunt as Smith after his 2007 Las Vegas arrest for armed robbery, he would’ve been imprisoned for life without the possibility of parole.