Los Angeles/IBNS: Months after Chris Rock and Will Smith made headlines at the 94th Academy Awards for the slapgate, the Academy Award recipient apologised to the comedian in an extensive Instagram video.
Smith revealed in the video that he reached out to Chris Rock but the comedian is not ready to talk yet.
He also apologised to Chris’ family, the Academy nominees as well as his family.
Will Smith, who picked up his much-deserved Best Actor Oscar Trophy, became the talk of the showbiz world after punching Chris Rock at the Academy Awards stage leaving spectators shocked after the comedian cracked a joke on the former’s wife-actor Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Chris Rock, however, laughed off the incident and continued in his role as a presenter for the Best Documentary award.
Rock had cracked a joke on Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith by comparing her tightly cropped hair to Demi Moore’s appearance in the film G.I.Jane.
Jada has openly talked about her autoimmune disorder that resulted in alopecia and hence, the joke did go down well with Smith, who went up to the stage and punched Rock, leaving everybody in attendance shocked over the events.
After the slapping incident, Will Smith had exclusively apologised to the Academy and the nominees.
A few days later, he posted a public apology on Instagram, addressing Chris Rock, the Williams family and the Academy. Will Smith won Best Actor for his role as Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena.
In a fresh video, Smith answers the question, “Why didn’t you apologise to Chris in your acceptance speech?” To this, Will replied, “I was fogged out by that point. It was all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he is not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris. I apologise to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk.”
Smith also apologised to Chris Rock’s mother and added that he did not realise how many people he “hurt in that moment.”
Reflecting on the last 3 months, Smith said, “This is probably irreplaceable. I spent last 3 months replaying and understanding the nuances and complexities of what happened in that moment and I will not unpack all that right now. I can say that there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in the in that moment. There is no part of me that thinks that that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
He also stated that his wife Jada Pinkett Smith did not ask him to take the step that he did at the Oscars.
He clarified, “Its like, I made a choice on my own from my own experience, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with, sorry babe, sorry to my kids and family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
Apologizing to fellow nominees, he said, “To all my fellow nominees, This a community, I won because you voted to me. It breaks my heart to have stolen your moment. “I know sorry isn’t sufficient,” he added.
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To all the people that he let down, the King Richard actor said, “Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down. It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I did not live up to people’s image and impression of me. The work I am trying to do…I am deeply remorseful and I am trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself.
“I am human and I made a mistake and I am trying not think of myself as a piece of s***. I would like to say to those people, I know it was confusing, shocking but I promise you that I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light, and love and joy in the world and you know, if you hang on, we’ll be able to be friends again.”
Smith has been banned from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years. The Academy took disciplinary action against the King Richard star who slapped and swore at Oscar presenter Chris Rock for a joke he made at the expense of Will Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett.
