Tyler Perry reluctantly opened up today about Will Smith’s Oscar slap of Chris Rock, saying he “left early to get to Chris to make sure he was okay” but felt some empathy for Smith.In a Q&A with Gayle King at the Tribeca Festival, he took issue with media reports that he had comforted Smith — who sprinted up to Rock and belted him for joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.“There is a difference between comforting and de-escalating,” Perry told King in response to her prodding on the slap in the midst of a sweeping conversation about his life and career.“My only problem with it is this.
If I talk about it, than it become overshadowing of everything else we talked about. That will be the headline for sure,” Perry told King, who asked several times if Will Smith would keep his namesake soundstage at Tyler Perry Studios.
Perry named each of the 12 stages after someone he admires.“We can make another headline,” joked King. “I am pregnant with Tyler’s child.
That’s the headline.”Once launched, Perry continued: “I was there, close up. I left early to go and check on Chris because it was wrong in no uncertain terms and I made sure I said that to Will.
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