After months of silence after the Oscar Slap at the 94th Academy Awards, Will Smith released a nearly six-minute apology video addressing the controversy for the first time since March. In the video, Smith apologized to Chris Rock and his family as well as he also answered some questions he had been encountering since the incident.
Will Smith apologised for the issue in a nearly six-minute video following the slap at the 94th Academy Awards. Back then, after presenter Chris Rock made a crude joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith entered the stage and struck him. Smith stayed in the theatre for the remainder of the evening and even accepted the Best Actor award.
Smith admitted in the video that he tried to contact Chris Rock but that the comedian was not yet ready to speak. He also expressed regret to his family, the Academy candidates, and Chris’ family. When Chris Rock, who was on stage at the Oscars to present an award, made a joke about Will Smith’s wife and actor Jada Pinkett Smith being in “G.I. Jane” because of her shaved head , it enraged Smith, who smacked Chris Rock and yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth!”
As soon as the video starts, the following text flashes on screen, “It’s been a minute… Over the last few months I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work. You asked a lot of fair questions and I wanted to take some time to answer.” Will responds to the query “Why didn’t you apologise to Chris in your acceptance speech?” in the video. Will said, “I was fogged out by that point. It was all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he is not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris. I apologise to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk.”
When considering the previous three months, Will Smith said, “This is probably irreplaceable. I spent last 3 months replaying and understanding the nuances and complexities of what happened in that moment and I will not unpack all that right now. I can say that there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in the in that moment. There is no part of me that thinks that that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
He added that Jada Pinkett Smith, his wife, did not urge him to perform the move at the Oscars. He explained, “Its like, I made a choice on my own from my own experience, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with, sorry babe, sorry to my kids and family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
Watch Will’s full apology video here:
