Two months after the moment has passed Steve Harvey has spoken about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
During a speaking engagement at Georgia State University (with initial reporting by Atlanta Journal-Constitution who covered the event), Harvey mentions how the slap was a “punk move” and he’s “lost a lot of respect for him.”
He didn’t hold back his feelings about the situation and mentioned how faith has helped him solve problems in a non-violent way. “I’m a Christian, but I’m really undeveloped. I don’t have high-level Christianity. On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m like a 2. That’s the level of Christianity I can work on,” Harvey said. “You slap T.D. Jakes, he’ll turn the other cheek. You slap me? If you sit back in your seat, Jada [Will’s wife] would have to move out of the way. That’s the type of Christian I am.”
In April, Smith submitted a resignation to the Academy, and subsequently, the Academy released a letter banning the actor from any Academy related events for 10 years–and he accepted the terms. “I accept and respect the Academy’s decision,” Smith said in a succinct statement soon after AMPAS made their POV public.
Courtroom comedy Judge Steve Harvey premiered strongly in January with a 0.7 rating in the 18-49 demo and 4.92 million viewers. Throughout its freshman run, which has been interrupted by The Bachelor and Jeopardy! National College Championship, Judge Steve Harvey has been a decent performer for ABC. The series has remained steady with a 0.4 demo rating with its latest episodes.
