Los Angeles, Sep 27 (IANS): Actor Kevin Hart continues defending Hollywood star Will Smith in the wake of the Oscars slap.

In a new interview, the comedian insinuated that his friend deserves a shot at redemption and that people should stop judging Will after slapping Chris Rock, reports aceshowbiz.com.

Sitting down with N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN on Revolt's 'Drink Champs', Kevin was asked during a round of Quicktime or Slime who he'd choose between Ice Cube or Will Smith.

Carefully picking his words, the "Ride Along" star deliberately responded, "Dark times deserve f**king great light. I'm not going to s**t on my brother.

They both are my brothers, but I'm not going to take time to s**t on them."

Making his choice, the 43-year-old said, "I'm going to say Will Smith and here's why: Will Smith is not only a legend, he's not only a GOAT..." When N.O.R.E. interrupted him to call Will "a gangster" for slapping Rock, Hart seemed to disagree as saying, "Those are your words, not mine."

Hart went on praising Smith: "Will Smith is the reason why the idea of African Americans (being) attached to global IP is normal. Studios took the gamble on more leads of colour because of the work that Will Smith and (Denzel Washington) were on in the beginning."

He added, "You need the faces that are giving a universal return. I'm not going to s**t on Will and act like he wasn't that guy."

As for the aftermath of the Oscars slap, Kevin weighed in, "People make mistakes, and from mistakes they should be allowed time to recover."

He went on noting that Smith and Rock should figure things out between them privately, stressing, "And that this is no longer the world's problem. It's Will and Chris' problem, and let them deal with that. The world should step out of it."

Hart previously said that Will is "apologetic" and in a "better space" months after his controversial behavior at the awards-giving event.

Interestingly, Hart also maintains a good friendship with Rock. In the same month, he and the "Amsterdam" star co-headlined a comedy show at Madison Square Garden in NYC, during which Dave Chappelle opened for them.