Will Smith breaks silence over Oscar slap, apologises to Chris Rock: ‘I’m here whenever you are ready to talk’
Hollywood star Will Smith on Friday took to his Instagram handle to break the silence on his infamous Oscars slap.
Smith, who won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard, said he’s “deeply remorseful” for slapping presenter Chris Rock after the latter made fun of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
In a video posted on Instagram, Smith answered some questions that have been doing the rounds of the internet regarding his impending apology. The actor began by answering the question – “Why didn’t you apologize to Chris Rock in the acceptance speech?” In his reply, Smith said that he reached out to Rock, who wasn’t “ready to talk”. The Men in Black star added, “I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk.”
Stand-up comedian and host Chris Rock poked fun at Jada Pinkett Smith‘s hair-loss, being unaware that she suffers from alopecia. This infuriated Will Smith who walked up to the Oscars stage and slapped Rock.
Read Will Smith’s full apology to Chris Rock:
“I was fogged out by that point. It is all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk.
I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview [she] did, and that was one of the things I just didn’t realize. I wasn’t thinking, but how many people got hurt in that moment. I want to apologize to Chris’ mother, I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock.
We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable. I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuance and complexity of what happened in that moment. 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. No part of me that thinks that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insult.”
In another part of the apology video, Will Smith added that his wife Jada Pinkett Smith had nothing to do with the slap. He said, “I made a choice of my own from my own experiences and from my history with Chris.”
Smith also mentioned how his Oscar win got “tarnished” because of his own misdoing. “To all my fellow nominees, this is a community. It’s like, I won because you voted for me and it breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment,” he said.