OJ Simpson weighs in on Will Smith's Oscar slap; says 'I can relate'

Oscar-winner Will Smith’s recent shocking incident at the Academy Awards this year, has created a strong buzz among the people. Not just his fans, but several stars are also expressing their take on the incident where Smith had slapped comedian Chris Rock on stage while the latter poked fun at the actor’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The recent celebrity to join the bandwagon includes American former football running back, actor OJ Simpson.

The actor decided to document his thoughts through a video on Twitter. Simpson, who was famously acquitted for the 1994 double murder of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, posted a video rant on the micro-blogging site.  In the video, OJ says he has also been through a lot of "crap," and on the other side of that -- presumably in reference to his acquittal in the '90s where he was also the centre of many jokes. 

OJ Simpson talks about Will Smith's slap incident with Chris Rock 

While sharing his views on the altercation between Will Smith and Chris Rock, he said, “In my life, I've been through a lot of crap," he says in the selfie-style video recorded at a bar in Florida. "I was raising two young kids and every comedian in the country had an OJ routine, and don't think I wouldn't wanna slap a couple of those guys... But it's humour,” he concluded.

He captioned the video and wrote, “He was wrong but I understand the sentiment', Simpson said while he "understood the feeling" of wanting to slap a comedian, the joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett-Smith wasn't "all that egregious.” 

According to Newshub, exactly 13 years after his acquittal, Simpson was found guilty on 12 counts, including kidnapping, relating to an armed robbery of a Las Vegas memorabilia dealer in 2007. He was sentenced in 2008 to 33 years in prison for the crimes but was released in 2017 on parole after serving almost nine years.

Meanwhile, the Academy issued a statement shortly after the incident, condemning Smith's actions. The Academy condemns the actions of Smith at last night’s show. We have officially started a formal review around the incident and will explore further action and consequences in accordance with our Bylaws, Standards of Conduct, and California law," they mentioned. 

Image: Twitter/@TheRealOJ32/AP: