LOS ANGELES — American actor Will Smith has released a moving new apology for beating Chris Rock at the Oscars earlier this year, revealing in a lengthy video that he reached out to the comedian who wasn’t “ready to talk.“
Smith – who won Best Actor – took to the stage and slapped Rock for making a joke about his wife, in an incident that overshadowed the March ceremony and was broadcast live around the world.
“Chris, I apologize. My behavior was unacceptable. And I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” Smith reiterated in the nearly six-minute video, in which he also answered questions from fans on the shock moment that tarnished his public image.
Smith publicly apologized shortly after the incident and was banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years after the slap.
The 53-year-old has also resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – although the organization did not strip him of the Best Actor award for King Richard.
In the video posted to social media on Friday, Smith said his wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who sat next to him and grimaced as Rock joked about him, said nothing to trigger his attack.
“I made a decision on my own,” he said, also apologizing to Pinkett-Smith and the couple’s children “for the warmth I brought to all of us.”
“There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the best way to deal with feeling disrespected or insulted,” says the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor, who at one point in the video seems to be holding back tears.
Rock addressed the slap during a stand-up in New Jersey earlier this month, Us Weekly reported.
“Anyone who says hurtful words has never been slapped,” he reportedly joked, before adding, “I’m not a victim…I’m not going to the hospital for a paper cut.”
- Editor / additional report by AFP
