Will Smith issued a lengthy and heartfelt apology to comedian Chris Rock in a video posted on YouTube three months after the slapping incident that occurred at the 94th Annual Academy Awards.
Will Smith has stated that he has “reached out” to Chris Rock following their altercation at the Academy Awards. The incident has brought a lot of negative publicity to Smith and it seems that he wants to redeem himself now.
Read More: Chris Rock Cracks A Joke About Will Smith Targeting Cancel Culture At His New Stand-Up
Will Smith Reveals The Message Chris Rock Sent Him
Smith disclosed in the video that he had attempted to get in touch with Chris Rock, but the comedian is not ready to discuss the matter at this time. In addition, he expressed his regret to Chris’ family, the Academy Award candidates, and his own family.
Chris Rock made an appearance on stage to present an award at this year’s Academy Awards. While he was there, he made a “G.I. Jane” joke about Will Smith’s wife and actress Jada Pinkett Smith because of her shaved head. Jada suffers from a condition called alopecia and maybe this was the reason that the joke enraged the ‘Men in Black‘ actor.
He gave Chris Rock a smack before returning to his seat and yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f*****g mouth!”
Coming back to the Youtube video, the first few seconds of the video display the following text: “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.”
After the event involving the slap, Will Smith sent a sincere apology to the Academy and the candidates. Will also issued an open statement of regret on Instagram, in which he specifically called out Chris Rock, the Williams family, and the Academy.
Will Smith’s performance as Richard Williams, the famous tennis player father of Venus and Serena Williams, earned him the award for Best Actor at the academy.
Will Smith Also Explains Why He Didn’t Apologize To Chris During The Acceptance Speech
On being asked why didn’t he apologize to Chris in his acceptance speech? Will answered, “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 apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk.”
Will Smith also extended an apology to Chris Rock’s mother and stated that he was unaware of the number of people he “hurt at that moment.” Will Smith reflected over the past three months and remarked, “This is probably irreplaceable. I spent the last 3 months replaying and understanding the nuances and complexities of what happened at 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 at 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 concluded.
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