Terry Crews says the punishing of Will Smith over smacking Chris Rock at the Oscars was "overkill".
Terry Crews defends Will Smith over Oscars smack
The 53-year-old actor is a close friend of both stars and admitted he's done a lot "worse than Will" in the past after the 'King Richard' star struck comedian Chris for making a comment about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaven head at the awards ceremony last month.
Will was subsequently banned from the Academy Awards for 10 years, and the former footballer believes the "punishment did not fit the crime".
He told The Hollywood Reporter: "Both Will Smith and Chris Rock are dear, dear friends of mine - I love them both as brothers, but there was a time in my life where I was Will Smith at that moment and let me tell you I’ve done worse than Will.
“Like people were like, ‘What in the world are you doing?’ My wife even had to be like, ‘You got to promise me you will never go off like this. You did not need to pick this man up and put him on his head, on the concrete."
Terry also praised Chris for his composure after he was struck.
He continued: "(It was) overkill, the punishment did not fit the crime. I’m very thankful to Chris, but also I understand Will. I’m not [one] to demonise Will at all because I was there.”
Terry also believes Chris "saved Hollywood" by not retaliating.
He added: "Because if there would’ve been a brawl on that stage, I don’t know if Hollywood would’ve ever gotten any respect again, you know? It’s hard to even imagine what would’ve happened."
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