It’s been a little over 4 months since Will Smith has posted to social media following the historic Oscars Slap to Chris Rock.
He breaks his since in a video clip posted to tiktok to answer questions about the Oscars event and what exactly happened during that night. In the video, he apologizes to Chris Rock, his mother and anyone else who was affected by his “unacceptable behavior.”
Smith answers the question on why he didn’t apologize to Chris Rock during his acceptance speech and he says, “I was fogged out by that point.” He says he reached out to Rock and the response was that Rock was not yet ready to discuss what took place and that he would reach out when he is.”
Since the initial silence breaking video, two more videos clips have been released addressing additional questions surrounding the event, including Jada’s part in the Smith’s actions and expressively letting people down who looked up to him.
In a nearly six-minute video originally posted to Youtube, Will Smith explains that “Jada had nothing to do with it” and that he was “sorry to [his] kids and [his] family for all the heat that [he] brought on all of [them].”
Will Smith says in the video to anyone who felt let down by his actions, “I would say to those people, I know it was confusing, I know it was shocking,” he says. “But I promise you, I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. And you know, if you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”
Why Was Will Smith Banned From The Academy Awards?
Comedian Chris Rock made a G.I Jane joke at the 2022 Academy Awards about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith while presenting the Oscar for best documentary feature. Jada Pinkett Smith then rolled her eyes as she was previously diagnosed with Alopecia in 2018, and didn’t find the joke funny.
There has been discussion to whether or not Rock knew about Jada’s Alopecia diagnosis and it stirred a response from Will Smith that left the audience speechless.
Will Smith stormed onto the Dolby Theatre stage at the awards and slapped Chris Rock across the face. After returning to his seat, Smith later yelled out “keep my wife’s name out your [expletive ] mouth.”
In early April, the backlash compelled The Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences to bar Will Smith from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years because of the slap.
By the time of that announcement, though, Smith had already resigned from the group –a move that prevented the academy from suspending or expelling him.
Smith was not escorted out of the 94th Academy Awards, and later received best actor award for his performance in the movie “King Richard,” a portrait of Serena and Venus Williams’ hard-charging father.
Will says, “I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuances and the complexities of what happened in that moment,” Smith reflects. “And I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now. But I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
