Will Smith received a ban from attending any academy events. There is no coming back from that, however, there is a way to put things straight with Chris Rock. And the beginning of it is by apologizing.
“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave.” – Will Smith opens the monologue. “Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable. And I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Will Smith Took The Stand To Apologize To Chris Rock – I’m A Human, I Made A Mistake
Will Smith had tried to get in touch with the comedian, however, until now that did not happen because Chris felt like he is not ‘ready to talk just yet’.
In the video, Will Smith goes on and apologizes to Chris Rock, his family, particularly his mother who also watched the Oscars and has given an interview on the matter.
“You know, I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt at that moment? So I want to apologize to Chris’s mother.”
While the cameraman films the actor sitting alone in a chair, Will tries to recall questions from his fans about the ‘incident’. “You have asked a lot of fair questions.” – he said.
The first question he recalled was about why he didn’t apologize to Chris at the time of receiving the Oscar. It is a fair question to which he simply responded that he was fogged out, and unable to think reasonably.
“It’s all fuzzy.” – Will says in the video. “But I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave at that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
At the moment we don’t know if Chris Rock knew about Jada Pinkett’s medical condition when making the joke. He had made a reference to the GI Jane movie starring Demi Moore. In the movie, Demi Moore plays a soldier and shaved her head for the role.
However, Jada Pinkett has no hair on her head not because she shaves it, but because she has a condition called alopecia. It is an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss among other things.
Will Smith did receive an Oscar that night. He received an award for the best documentary feature for his Summer of Soul role. In the video, Smith recalls the look in everyone’s eyes when he walked on stage to slap Rock. He says he is not proud of the moment and apologized to his fellow colleague actors as well.
“To all my fellow nominees…. it really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment. I can still see Questlove’s eyes. ‘I’m sorry,’ really isn’t sufficient.”
“I’m human. And I made a mistake and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s***. I know it was confusing. I know it was shocking, but I promise you, I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. And, you know. If you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”
