Denzel Washington Reveals He Prayed With Will Smith After Oscars Slap

After Will Smith rushed the stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face at the Oscars last week, devout Christian Hollywood actor Denzel Washington was seen counseling the younger “Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air” breakout. Over the weekend, Washington spoke out about publicly about what happened that night, revealing that he prayed with Smith after the slap. 

‘When The Devil Comes At You…’

While attending author and bishop T.D. Jakes’ leadership summit on Saturday morning, Denzel Washington was asked about what happened between Will Smith and Chris Rock at the Oscars.

“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,'” Washington said, according to NBC News. “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.”

Smith smacked Rock after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, that he did not take kindly to.

Despite the public assault, Smith not only remained at the ceremony but was also permitted to accept the best actor Oscar for King Richard minutes later.

During his acceptance speech, Will Smith thanked Denzel Washington, revealing that the Remember The Titans star had told him minutes before, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”

Backstory: Devout Christian Denzel Washington Had Wise Words For Will Smith At The Oscars

‘Who Are We To Condemn?’

“Fortunately there were people there,” Washington said on Saturday. “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 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.”

Watch Washington talk more about this in the video below. 

Will Smith resigned from the Academy in disgrace on Friday over the slap.

“The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” Smith said as he handed in his resignation. “I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.”

The 53-year-old Independence Day star is also starting to feel the repercussions of his actions.

Full story: Will Smith Hit With Crushing Career Blow As His Movies Are Put On Hold Following Oscars Slap

Chris Rock Still ‘Processing What Happened’ 

The Academy will be meeting on April 18 to decide how to reprimand Smith, and it’s possible that he will be stripped of his Oscar.

Chris Rock broke his silence about the slap while performing on Wednesday in Boston, where he said that he is still “processing what happened.”

“I don’t have a bunch of s— about what happened, so if you came to hear that, I have a whole show I wrote before this weekend,” Rock said. “I’m still kind of processing what happened. So, at some point I’ll talk about that s—. And it will be serious and funny.”

Regardless of what happens next, this is definitely one Oscars moment that will be talked about for many years to come. Everyone is waiting to see how the Academy handles this moving forward so I will update you as the situation develops.

Thankfully there are still a few common sense celebrities out there like Denzel Washington. He may be in the Hollywood minority, however, he speaks for so many of us.