Will Smith was quiet for a long time after the actor caused the most shocking moment at the Oscars this year. After comedian Chris Rock cracked a joke on stage about Jada Pinkett Smith's balding - apparently unaware that the actress suffers from patchy baldness - Smith slapped him across the face. In front of the rolling cameras and a shocked audience.
Chris Rock also appeared shocked, but then stopped the police from arresting his colleague. On the contrary: Instead of being punished, Will Smith received the Oscar for best actor and tried to explain himself in his acceptance speech. After the award, it became quiet about the film star. Now he has spoken out on social media.
"In the last few months I've been thinking a lot and working personally..." it says in his video statement. "You asked a lot of valid questions that I wanted to take some time to answer," Smith says.
Why he hadn't apologized directly to Rock in his speech was one of the questions. "I was in a daze at the time," Smith explains. "It's all muddled. I reached out to Chris and the message that came back was that he's not ready to talk yet and when he is he'll be in touch. So I'm telling you Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here for you if you're ready to talk."
He also explained that his wife did not ask him to defend her so publicly. He also had to apologize to his family. He has spent the past few months "understanding the nuances and complexities of what happened at that moment." "There's no part of me that thinks that's the optimal way to deal with a feeling of disrespect or insult," explains the 'King Richard' star. He's working on that. Disappointing people is the worst thing for him. "If you hold on, I promise we can be friends again," he says at the end.
Will Smith won't be able to make amends any time soon on the Oscars stage - the Academy banned him for the next ten years after the incident.
