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regular-article-logo Friday, 03 May 2024

I made a mistake: Will Smith apologises to Chris Rock for Oscar slapgate

'I reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, but when he is, he will reach out'

AP/PTI New York Published 29.07.22, 08:53 PM
Will Smith

Will Smith File picture

Will Smith has again apologised to Chris Rock for slapping him during the Oscar telecast in a new video, saying that his behaviour was “unacceptable” and that he had reached out to the comedian to discuss the incident but was told Rock wasn’t ready.

“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave at that moment,” Smith said in the video posted online on Friday. “I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself.”

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Smith, seated in a white polo shirt and white ball cap, spoke directly to a camera, answering pre-selected questions about his behaviour at the March 27 Academy Awards, when he slapped presenter Rock after the comedian made a comment about the hairstyle of Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife.

Smith also apologised to Rock’s family and especially his mother, Rosalie, who was horrified to see her son hurt and told US Weekly, “When he slapped Chris, he slapped all of us. He really slapped me.”

Smith also apologised to Tony Rock, Chris’ younger brother. “I didn’t realise how many people got hurt at that moment,” Smith said. Smith also apologised to his family “for the heat that I brought on all of us” and his fellow Oscar nominees to have “stolen and tarnished your moment”.

He said his wife did nothing to encourage his slap. “Jada had nothing to do with it,” he said. Following the altercation, the motion picture academy banned Smith from attending the Oscars or any other academy event for 10 years. Smith apologised to Rock in a statement after the Oscars, saying he was “out of line and I was wrong”. “I’m sorry really isn’t sufficient,” Smith said in the video.

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