Questlove Clueless About Will Smith Oscars Slap Because He Was Busy Doing THIS
As many fans and celebrities witnessed one of the shocking moments in television history after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, Questlove said he was clueless about what happened as he was busy doing something during the Oscars.
Moments before the Roots drummer won the Best Documentary Feature category for "Summer of Love," Rock delivered his monologue in which he made fun of Jada Pinkett Smith's hairstyle, which led the "King Richard" actor to assault him on stage.
According to the New York Post, the musician appeared on Monday's episode of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" to discuss what happened that evening.
Questlove, whose real name is Ahmir Thompson, said he had no idea that there was an altercation between the two celebrities as he was practicing Transcendental Meditation before the winner of his category was announced to get into the zone.
The first-time director said when the commercial break was happening, he was in his "space," and when he opened his eyes, he didn't realize why everyone was so quiet.
"I literally was not present for that whole entire moment," he told Fallon.
By the time he was announced as the winner, Questlove said he was still processing, and it took him three seconds before uttering a word.
Questlove, Producers Find the Moment 'Odd' After Accepting the Award
According to an insider who spoke to Page Six, the musician and his producers, Joseph Patel, David Dinerstein, and Robert Fyvolent, were excited to win the coveted award, but they found the whole moment "odd" as they received the honor shortly after Smith's infamous slap.
"What can one say? The air was taken out of the room by everyone, so how can it not affect the moment?" the source said before adding everyone was stunned.
Questlove's documentary was about the 1969 Harlem Culture Festival that lasted for six weeks. The music event featured some of the biggest icons in music like Nina Simone, the Family Stone, Mahalia Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and more.
The viral moment happened when Chris Rock joked about the "Red Table Talk" host's hair loss, leading Smith to go up on stage and slap him in front of the crowd.
When he got back to his seat, he shouted, "keep my wife's name out of your f****** mouth!"
