John Leguizamois reflecting onWill Smith’s Best Actor acceptance speech at the 94thAcademy Awards, saying he “wish(es) it would’ve been a little clearer apology” toChris Rock.
PEOPLE spoke with theEncantovoice actor, 57, on Sunday at theVanity FairOscars Party, following the ceremony that saw Will, 53, take the stage and strike Rock, 57, across the face after the latter made a hair-related joke aboutJada Pinkett Smith.
During his acceptance speech later in the show, Will addressed the incident directly,offering an apology to the Academyand his fellow actors for the incident — but failed to mention Rock.
“I think he tried. I wish it would’ve been a little clearer apology to Chris, because the poor guy must be shocked, left the building. So that was kind of unfortunate,” says Leguizamo. “That kind of thing, you just call your friend. You go, ‘Don’t do that to me again, man.’ Call him.”
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From L: Will Smith, John Leguizamo and Chris Rock.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty; Evan Agostini/AP/Shutterstock; Al Seib/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty
Will’s win forKing Richardcame several minutes afterhe smacked Rock on the Oscars stageafter the comedian made a joke about Jada’s hair, saying in part, “Jada, I love ya.G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see ya.”
After the remark, Jada (who recently opened up about shaving her head as a result of heryears-long struggle with alopecia), 50, rolled her eyes, and Will took to the stage and hit Rock. Will returned to his seat and shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out your f—ing mouth.”
Will Smith.ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty
Of whether he thinks Will and Rock will smooth things over, Leguizamo tells PEOPLE, “I hope so. I think Will is big enough to make up and to really man up and apologize.”
During the incident, though, theRomeo + Julietactor admits he “didn’t understand what wasgoing on” between Rock and Willand thought, like many around him, that it was a joke.
“You were so confused at the moment that it happened. … Till it all dawned on you like, ‘Oh, that was real.’ That was very unfortunate,” Leguizamo says.
RELATED VIDEO: John Leguizamo Says People Love That HisEncantoCharacter Is a “Sensitive Man”
“I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” he also said. “Art imitates life: I look like the crazy father. Just like they said aboutRichard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”
Representatives for Rock have not responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
source: people.com
