29th July, 2022
American actor, Will Smith has broken his silence over the reckless “slap” he delivered to Chris Rock at the 94th Oscars Award ceremony.
He posted a video on his verified Instagram page, addressing the Chris Rock slap and the situation after the event.
At the beginning of the video, it read; “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 that I wanted to take some time to answer.
The first question he addressed was regarding his defiance, not apologising to Chris in his acceptance speech.
Smith said; “I was fogged out by that point. It’s all fuzzy. I 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. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behaviour was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.
He also apologised to Chris’s mother, saying “I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview that Chris’s mother did. You know, that was one of the things about that moment I just didn’t realize.
“I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment. So I want to apologize to Chris’s mother, and I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. You know, Tony Rock was my man. And this is probably irreparable” he added.
While fighting tears, Smith continued saying “There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
“Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down. It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me…
“I am deeply remorseful, and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself. I’m human. I made a mistake. I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s—t.
“I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking. But I promise you, I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. If you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”
The actor also apologized to his own family, Rock’s family, Smith’s fellow Best Actor nominees, and singer Questlove, whose Best Documentary Feature win came shortly after the incident and was greatly overshadowed by it.