Will Smith Admits His Real Concern After His Controversial Oscars Slap
All was well at the 2022 Oscars until Will Smith unexpectedly slapped Chris Rock. Rock made a joke, referencing Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss due to alopecia. This prompted the "Aladdin" actor to rush the stage, slap the comedian, return to his seat, and yell, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth." The incident was so stunning that some believed it was part of the show, per Slate.
Four months later, the "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star released a nearly six-minute apology video to his social media platforms. In the video, he addressed what happened and mentioned that he has reached out to Rock, but the comedian wasn't ready to talk about the incident. "Chris, I apologize to you," he said. "My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
In September, the comedian broke his silence on the matter. During a stand-up tour with Dave Chappelle, Rock was asked if the slap was painful. "Goddamn right ..." he answered, via the Daily Mail. "The motherf**** hit me over a bulls*** joke, the nicest joke I ever told." Although the two comedians could have been poking a little fun at the incident, Rock has made it clear that he doesn't want to talk to the "King Richard" star about it, per People. And it seems that fans have the same attitude toward seeing the actor's new movie.
Will Smith doesn't want his team to be 'penalized'
It looks like people have moved past Will Smith slapping Chris Rock, as the actor is in the midst of promoting a new movie. The director of the movie, Antoine Fuqua, was asked about working with Smith despite the controversy. "I think it's an unfortunate event and I hope we can move forward and get past it," he told Vanity Fair, hoping they will someday talk about it.
The "Emancipation" star recently discussed his Hollywood comeback. "My deepest concern is my team," he told Good Day DC's, Kevin McCarthy. He mentioned that he knows some people won't be seeing the film due to the Oscars incident, but he doesn't want that to discredit everyone else's hard work. "The people on this team have done some of the best work of their entire careers, and my deepest hope is that my actions don't penalize my team," he added.
Despite the controversy, it seems that Smith has had a wonderful and almost healing experience while filming "Emancipation." He posted a video to Instagram of himself enjoying the rain on set. "I love the rain, I love how it makes everything stop," he said in the video. He mentioned that it also helps him get into character. "In the middle of all of the hell, he just finds a moment of the beauty of God in nature and realizes that the problem is man," he added.