MSNBC host Tiffany Cross said on her show this weekend that it was ‘utterly ridiculous to center’ the discussion of the Oscars slap incident around ‘opinions of white folks’ and held a panel explaining to viewers why white people should ‘sit this one out.’ 

The host kept the conversation going Sunday, a week after Will Smith infamously slapped comedian Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars. Smith has since apologized and resigned from the Academy in the face of possibly suspension.  

Cross kicked off the topic on the slap by saying that ‘everybody has an opinion and I’m sure you all are tired of talking about it, but we have to weigh in on it.’ 

‘I think it is utterly ridiculous to center this conversation in the opinions of white folks,’ she added. ‘This is just about what happened there. 

‘The jumping off point should not be what might the white people think about it. It is just this moment between those two men. I thought it was uncalled for,’ Cross said. 

Cross brought on her panel, which included TheGrio columnist Michael Harriot and actress Yvette Nicole Brown, for a conversation that centered around the idea that white people don’t understand the full context of Sunday’s incident.  

Harriot was first to speak, explaining that that the incident was ‘about how black people relate to each other.’

MSNBC host Tiffany Cross (center) and her her panel, actress Yvette Nicole Brown (left) and TheGrio columnist Michael Harriot (right) discussed the ongoing Oscars slap and why they believe white people should ‘sit this one out’

TheGrio columnist Michael Harriot explaining that the the Oscars slap was ‘about how black people relate to each other’

‘It’s hard to explain to a white person what’s the difference is between an open-handed slap and a punch is, because they consider it all violent,’ he said on the show. 

‘It’s hard to explain that everyone, really, has a certain threshold for which they will react in a certain way — whether it is say something to their mother, their sister.’

Brown offered her opinion to the conversation, saying what happened at the Oscars was a private matter among black people that came out publicly, adding that she’s possibly seen harder slaps at family’s Spades tournaments.

‘On Twitter, a lot of us were like, “Y’all sit this out for your protection,” because when we need to have a conversation, we’re gonna have it,’ she said. ‘If you put your nose in something that black people need to discuss amongst ourselves, it happens.’

She stressed that ‘violence is not the answer. But added there’s a ‘level of disrespect that every person can handle. Some people use their words, some people use their hands. It is what it is. In the black community, we understand that.’ 

‘I am not saying violence is the answer,’ she said and all three people on the panel agreed, condemning Smith for the incident.  

‘Everyone has apologized, ‘ she added. ‘We’re trying to move forward as a family.’

MSNBC host Tiffany Cross said it ‘utterly ridiculous to center’ the discussion of the Oscars slap incident around ‘opinions of white folks’

Brown said that ‘Some people use their words, some people use their hands. It is what it is. In the black community, we understand that’ – but added, ‘I’m not saying violence is the answer’ 

The show’s host took over the conversation and said she would ‘try to put this in context for our white fellow countrymen as best I can.’  

‘In really, truly black America, there’s a commonality amongst us all,’ she said. ‘If we went to a white person’s home, and it was their family dinner, and we were sitting at the table, and the mother hauled off and slapped the father and everybody at the table has an opinion.’

‘If I weigh in as the guest in this home and say, “Yeah, you guys are terrible,” everybody’s like “I’m sorry. When did you get an opinion? This is our family table”,’ she said.

‘That’s what this moment felt like for many of us. There’s a nuance to what happened.’ 

Cross added that she wanted to be clear that ‘while we talk about family talk, I think it is utterly ridiculous to center this conversation in the opinions of white folks. This is just about what happened there. 

‘The jumping off point should not be what might the white people think about it. It is just this moment between those two men. I thought it was uncalled for,’ Cross said.

Cross ended the panel discussion by saying she hoped both Smith and Rock get the help that they need.

Smith resigned from the Academy on Friday in the face of possible expulsion from the organization.

Smith marched onto the Oscars stage on Sunday and hit Rock, after the comedian told a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Rock’s wisecrack was targeted at Pinkett Smith’s buzzcut, a style she has embraced in wake of her alopecia diagnosis

Smith, in a statement first obtained by Variety on Friday, called his actions during the ceremony ‘shocking, painful and inexcusable,’ adding that he would accept any additional consequences issued by the Academy’s Board of Governors.

‘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. ‘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 actor also acknowledged that slapping Rock during the ceremony caused other award winners to be overshadowed.

‘I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film,’ Smith, 53, said.

He also shared how ‘change takes time’ and he is now ‘committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason.’

The Academy said it has accepted Smith’s ‘immediate resignation’ and will ‘continue to move forward’ with its disciplinary proceedings against him for violations of the group’s standards of conduct. Smith’s resignation came two days after the organization met to initiate the disciplinary hearings.

Will Smith SLAPS Chris Rock at the Oscars over joke about Jada

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 As evidenced by her unamused expression, Pinkett Smith did not appreciate the joke

The Best Actor winner is set for a ‘D-Day’ hearing with the Academy on April 18 where he will find out ‘if he still has an Oscar – and a career’, an insider said.  

Rock has not made any public comment about the slap, saying he is ‘still processing’ the incident.

He told a Boston crowd during a stand-up gig: ‘So, how was your weekend?’

Rock continued: ‘I don’t have a bunch of s*** to say about that, so if you came here for that…

‘I’m still processing what happened, so at some point I’ll talk about that s***. It’ll be serious. It’ll be funny, but right now I’m going to tell some jokes.’ 

Smith was presented with his first Academy Award after the onstage attack

This week, Smith’s biopic was ‘thrown into chaos’ as Netflix and Apple+ removed their bids on the film based on his autobiography.   

A source told The Sun: ‘Netflix and Apple+ have quietly removed their bids for a Will Smith biopic and will instead relocate the funds and develop original ideas from new black actors.’ 

The source added that working with the rapper has now become ‘risky business’ as he faces his upcoming movie projects being put on hold in the wake of the scandal.

Meanwhile, work on the fourth instalment of the Bad Boys film franchise has been halted by Sony following the Oscars scandal, according to The Hollywood Reporter.   

Industry sources say studios want to assess how tarnished Smith’s reputation has become after he stormed on stage to slap Rock for making a joke at the expense of his wife Jada, before sinking millions of dollars into further projects.