Will Smith Apologizes To Chris Rock In New Video: 'I'm Deeply Remorseful'
Will Smith breaks his silence over the infamous “Oscars slap” in a new video on his YouTube Channel, “Will Smith.”
Earlier on Friday, the “King Richard” actor uploaded the nearly-six-minute clip, titled “It’s been a minute,” wherein he apologized again to Chris Rock.
Smith noted at the beginning of the video that people asked “a lot of fair questions” and he wanted to “take some time to answer them.” He did so in the material and responded to three questions relating to the infamous incident, which occurred at this year’s Oscars.
The first one asked Will Smith why he did not apologize to Chris Rock in his acceptance speech. The public would recall that he won the Best Actor gong that night for his role in “King Richard.”
The “Aladdin” star said he was “fogged out” by that point, adding that it was “all fuzzy.” He revealed, however, that he reached out to the “Saturday Night Live” alum, although “the message that came back is that he is not ready to talk, but when he is, he will reach out.”
This led Smith to say his apology to Rock in the video. Page Six quoted the actor, saying, “I will say to you Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Aside from Chris Rock, the "Bad Boys" star also apologized to the comedian’s brother, Tony Rock, and their mother. He stated that he “did not realize”, and “was not thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment.”
After apologizing to the “Grown Ups” actor and his family, Will Smith emphasized that there is no part of him that thinks what he did was “the right way to behave in that moment.”
The “Focus” actor then moved on to the second question, which tackled Jada Pinkett Smith’s “eye roll” at the joke Rock had made.
Smith clarified that his wife did not tell him to do anything. He pointed out that he made a choice on his own, before apologizing to his wife and kids, as well as to his fellow nominees and audience.
As for the third question, it was about Will Smith's message to the “people who looked up to him before the slap” and the “people who expressed that [he] let them down.”
The “Collateral Beauty” actor shared that “disappointing people is [his] central trauma,” adding that he hates when he lets people down. Hence, “it hurts psychologically and emotionally to know that [he] did not live up to people’s image and impression of [him].”
In the latter part of the video, Smith said that he is “deeply remorseful,” although he is “trying to be remorseful without being ashamed” of himself.
Meanwhile, Chris Rock has yet to make any comment regarding the newly released video from the actor.