Will Smith is “deeply sorry” for slapping Chris Rock during the Oscars ceremony last March. The actor posted a video on his verified Instagram account on Friday (29), in which he talks about the incident.
“It’s been a while… Over the last few months, I’ve been thinking a lot and working a lot,” reads the text on the screen that starts the video. “You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer.”
Then Smith can be heard sighing. He then appears onscreen, addressing the camera to explain why he didn’t apologize to Rock during his acceptance speech for winning the Best Actor award for his role in the movie King Richard.
“I was confused at the time. Everything is confused. I contacted Chris and the message I got is that he is not ready to speak. When he is, he will contact me. So I’m going to tell you, Chris, that I apologize. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here when you’re ready to speak,” says Smith.
THE CNN contacted Rock’s representatives for comment on the statement.
“We had a great relationship”
Smith also apologized to Rock’s mother, family and brother Tony Rock, who starred in the 2007 comedy “All of Us” that Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett created.
“We had a great relationship,” Smith said. “Tony Rock was someone close and that’s probably irreparable.”
Smith also responded to the question whether his wife, after rolling her eyes at Rock’s joke, had asked him to do something. His answer was that she didn’t ask for it.
He also apologized to her, her children and fellow Oscar nominees.
Smith said he “spent the last three months rehearsing and understanding the nuances and complexity of what happened at the time.”
“I’m not going to try to download all this now. But I can tell you all, there’s not a part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave at the time,” he said. “No part of me thinks this is the ideal way to deal with a feeling of disrespect or insult.”
Consequences of the slap
Smith’s slap across Rock’s face midway through the Oscars ceremony on March 27 set off an earthquake in Hollywood that lasted several months. The actor attacked the comedian and host of the event after he made a joke about the shaved head of Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia.
Smith publicly apologized to Rock the day after the incident via social media. He also approached the show’s producer, Will Packer, the next morning, apologized and expressed his shame, the producer told Good Morning America.
As a result of the slap, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has ruled that Smith will not be able to attend the Oscars for the next ten years.
“The Board has decided, for a period of 10 years from April 8, 2022, that Mr. Smith will not be able to participate in any Academy event or program, in person or virtually, including but not limited to the Oscars,” read a statement obtained by the Academy. CNN .
Source: CNN Brasil
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