Will Smith has finally addressed the altercation he had with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars and the present situation between the two parties.
Will Smith has posted an emotional video on his social channels expressing remorse over his actions at the 2022 Oscars.
The actor caused a stir at the event when he slapped Chris Rock onstage after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith‘s appearance.
He shared a almost six-minute video entitled “It’s been a minute…,” on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, addressing the matter directly. Answering questions that were posed to him, the first question raised was about why he didn’t apologize to Chris Rock in his Oscars acceptance speech for Best Actor. He answered, “I was fogged out by that point. It’s all fuzzy.”
“I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behaviour was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Will Smith also apologised to Chris’ mum, Rosalie “Rose” Rock, referring to an interview she gave after the Oscars saga in which she said that when Chris Rock was hit on stage, she felt slapped as well.
“I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview that Chris’s mother did. You know, that was one of the things about that moment I just didn’t realize. I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment. So I want to apologize to Chris’s mother, I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. You know, Tony Rock was my man. And this is probably irreparable.”
He went on to say that he has spent the last three months “replaying and understanding the nuances and the complexities of what happened in that moment” and while he says he won’t unpack all of that now, he says that there is no part of him that thinks it was “the right way to behave”.
Watch the video below:
Smith also set the record straight on whether Jada had any involvement in suggesting he should do something. “It’s like, you know, I made a choice on my own from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” he said. “Jada had nothing to do with it.”
He then apologised to both her and his family for “the heat” that he brought on them all.
“It really breaks my heart to have stolen and have tarnished your moment,” he then says to the other nominees and winners that night. “I’m sorry really isn’t sufficient.”
After the slap, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was given a 10-year ban for “unacceptable and harmful behavior”. Smith’s next film, the slavery thriller Emancipation, has reportedly been receiving enthusiastic test screenings and is seen as a potential awards contender for Apple TV+.
