Jeff Townes, also known as DJ Jazzy Jeff from “The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air,” has thrown his support behind Will Smith, telling fans April 7 that Smith had a “lapse of judgement” when he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Townes, speaking at a Closed Sessions Legend Conversation in Chicago, went on to reveal he can think of “50 times he [Smith] should’ve smacked the sh*t out of someone, and he didn’t” according to a video posted by WGCI. He then said “a lot of the criticism comes from the people who don’t think that people like that are human,” according to the video.
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Townes continued defending Smith, telling the crowd that Smith typically maintains control of his emotions in situations. “I think the thing that I’ve realized is I don’t know too many people that has had the least amount of lapse of judgment than him,” Townes said in the video posted by WGCI . (RELATED: Old Clip Resurfaces Of Jada Appearing To Bully Will Smith Publicly)
Smith and Townes have maintained a strong friendship after first meeting in 1985, according to Nicki Swift. The DJ and record producer stated at the Chicago event that the Oscars slap was not typical behavior for Smith. “Don’t get it twisted that this was something that he was proud of,” he said, according to the video posted by WGCI.
Townes’ support of Smith comes after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences banned Will Smith on April 8 from all Academy events for ten years due to his on-stage assault of Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars on March 27.