On September 24, co-hosts of Drink Champs N.O.R.E and DJ Efn chopped it up with actor and comedian Kevin Hart and talked in depth about Will Smith and his notorious act of slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars. During a segment where Hart was asked to choose between Smith or Ice Cube, he was prompted to talk about the incident. 

“Dark times deserve f****** great light. I’m not going to s*** on my brother. They both are my brothers, but I’m not going to take time to s*** on them. I’m going to say Will Smith, and here’s why: Will Smith is not only a legend, he’s not only a GOAT,” Hart began before N.O.R.E. continued praising Smith for his actions at the award show. 

“Those are your words, not mine,” the comedian clarified. “Will Smith is the reason why the idea of African Americans [being] attached to global IP is normal. Studios took the gamble on more leads of color because of the work that Will Smith and Denzel [Washington] were on in the beginning.”

He pointed out that the altercation between Rock and Smith should be resolved between them, but “You need the faces that are giving a universal return. I’m not going to s**t on Will and act like he wasn’t that guy.”

Hart broadened the conversation to say that everyone makes mistakes and that their recovery from them is the most crucial part. 

“People make mistakes, and from mistakes, they should be allowed time to recover. And that this is no longer the world’s problem. It’s Will and Chris’ problem, and let them deal with that. The world should step out of it.”

As previously reported, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock on the big stage at the 2022 Oscars for making a distasteful joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith – who suffers from alopecia.