Even as a new Oscars ceremony has come and gone, the conversation around the 94th Academy Awards, particularly Will Smith and Chris Rock's infamous altercation, continues.
Chris' brother, fellow comedian Tony Rock, appeared on Big Boy TV for the Big Boy's Neighborhood radio show to speak about his career and the slap heard round the world.
The passion in his voice was palpable as he came to his brother's defense in the wake of his incident and cleared the air on why he had been so vocal in the past about it.
"I've been doing stand-up for 25 years, why would I need to talk about this for clout, it's my brother!" the 48-year-old emphatically stated.
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"I love my family more than anything in the world, so why would I not be offended by something like this happening?" even saying of Will: "I used to work for the guy, we was friends."
Tony also referenced his brother's Netflix special, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, while talking about how important Will was as a figure to other comedians and African Americans looking to break into the industry.
© Getty Images"We've always championed this guy," he added. "Collectively, as black and brown people, we thought we'd made it when he made it."
Tony got emotional when he clarified that at that point, Will had not reached out to him, sharing: "He doesn't owe me anything.
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"I just thought we were better than that, my phone number has never changed. I just thought I'd get a phone call saying 'Hey man, you and I, let's have a talk.' It hasn't happened, so I guess it's never going to happen."
Tony also claimed that the Oscar-winning actor had not reached out to his brother as he'd stated in an apology soon after the ceremony.
© Getty Images"That 'I reached out to him, he didn't want to talk', that wasn't true. Two nights later, when he'd said he reached out to Chris, that wasn't true."
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