Tyler Perry is sharing what took place after the incident. As he reflected on what happened, the 52-year-old said that Smith was in disbelief about what took place.
Perry also cleared up rumors that he comforted the actor following the slap. “There’s a difference between comforting and deescalating, that’s number one,” he explained. “And I left early to get to Chris to make sure he was okay. Being friends with both of them has been very difficult.
Additionally, the Madea creator confirmed that he told Smith that his actions were “wrong in no uncertain terms.” “And I’ll tell you, when we walked over to him, he was devastated. He couldn’t believe what happened. He couldn’t believe he did it,” Perry recalled.
“I’m looking at this man in his eyes going, ‘What are you doing? This is your night.’ And to get all the way to this moment, winning an Oscar, that was one of the crowning moments of his career that he wanted so desperately, and to have something like that happen…”