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Pedro Almodóvar, whose film Parallel Mothers was nominated for two Oscars, is one of the latest celebs in Hollywood to weigh in on Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at this year’s Academy Awards.
In a lengthy Oscars diary published on IndieWire Wednesday, the 72-year-old filmmaker delivered his take on “the violent episode” at the award show, during which he was seated in the Dolby Theater “very close to the protagonists” when the smack happened. And let’s just say, he did NOT mince his words about how he felt about it:
“What I saw and heard produced a feeling of absolute rejection in me.”
Related: Netflix Puts Will Smith’s Upcoming Film On Hold After Oscars Slap!
Damn! For Pedro, that feeling continued moments after the incident, especially during the King Richard star’s subsequent acceptance speech for best actor – a speech he felt “seemed more like that of a cult leader.” Whoa, what?! He continued:
“You don’t defend or protect the family with your fists, and no, the devil doesn’t take advantage of key moments to do his work.”
In particular, he took issue when Will recalled something Denzel Washington had warned him about in the aftermath of the slap. As you may recall, the 67-year-old had been one of a few people who spoke to The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum after the slap. Will then thanked Denzel for telling him, “at your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you” in the speech. And as we mentioned, the screenwriter seemed extremely disturbed by that sentiment, writing:
“The devil, in fact, doesn’t exist. This was a fundamentalist speech that we should neither hear nor see. Some claim that it was the only real moment in the ceremony, but they are talking about the faceless monster that is the social media. For them, avid for carrion, it undoubtedly was the great event of the night.”
Yeesh…
Since the award-week diary entry from Pedro, Denzel has dropped some more details about what went down with Will during an appearance at author and bishop T.D. Jakes’ leadership summit on Saturday. Referencing what was said in the Best Actor speech, he expressed:
“Well, there’s a saying, ‘When the devil ignores you, then you know you’re doing something wrong.’ The devil goes, ‘Oh no, leave him alone, he’s my favorite.’ Conversely, when the devil comes at you, maybe it’s because he’s trying to do something right. And for whatever reason the devil got ahold of that circumstance that night.”
While Denzel did not reveal what was spoken during the conversation, he shared that the group said some prayers at the time:
“Fortunately there were people there. Not just me, but others, Tyler Perry, came immediately right over there with me. [Said] some prayers. I don’t wanna say what we talked about, but there but for the grace of God go any of us. Who are we to condemn? I don’t know all the ins and outs of the situation, but I know the only solution was prayer, the way I see it.”
Okay, Perezcious readers, what are your thoughts on Pedro’s take here? Do you agree that the speech seemed similar to a “cult leader,” or do you think the director went too far? Let us know in the comments! You can also ch-ch-check out his entire diary entry about the Oscars HERE.
[Image via BBC America/YouTube, ABC/YouTube]
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