Will Smith has posted an emotional video on his social channels expressing remorse for the Oscars slap.
The 53-year-old actor caused controversy at this year’s ceremony after slapping Chris Rock on stage following a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her appearance. Smith posted a statement on Instagram apologizing, but has since remained silent.
The nearly six-minute video, uploaded to his YouTube channel and Instagram page, shows Smith answering questions that have been circulating ever since, starting with why he didn’t apologize to Rock in his acceptance speech.
“It’s all a blur,” Smith said. “I have contacted Chris and the message he got back is that he is not ready to talk and when he is he will be in touch so I will say to you Chris I apologize. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
He then takes the opportunity to apologize to Rock’s mother. “One of the things at the time is I didn’t realize, I wasn’t thinking, but how many people were hurt at the time,” he said. He then said the damage to his friendship with Rock’s brother Tony is “probably irreparable”.
He goes on to say that he’s spent the last three months “replaying and understanding the nuances and intricacies of what happened at that time,” and while he says he won’t unpack everything now, he says there’s no part. of him thinking it was “the right way to behave”.
Smith also made it clear whether Jada had any involvement in suggesting she should do anything. “It’s like, you know, I made a choice on my own based on my own experiences, my history with Chris,” she said. “I had nothing to do with it anymore.”
He then apologized to both her and her family for “the heat” he caused them all.
“It really breaks my heart that I stole and ruined your moment,” he then tells the other nominees and winners that night. “I’m sorry it’s not really enough.”
When asked about what he would say to those who had previously admired him but felt let down by his behavior, he said that “letting people down” is his central trauma. “I hate it when I let people down,” he said. “So it hurts. It hurts psychologically and emotionally to know that I didn’t live up to the image and impression that people had of me. The work that I’m trying to do is that I’m deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without shame -me of myself. I’m human. I’ve made mistakes and I’m trying not to think of myself as shit.”
The video comes after Rock also addressed the incident at a live comedy event in New York last week. “Anyone who says ‘words hurt’ has never been punched in the face,” he said. Rock also emphasized that he’s “not a victim” and said he wouldn’t “go to the hospital for a paper cut.”
After the slap, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and received a 10-year ban for “unacceptable and harmful conduct.” Smith’s next film, the slavery thriller Emancipation, has been receiving rave reviews and is seen as a potential awards contender for Apple TV+.