Will Smith told The Hollywood Reporter that the incident occurred during rehearsals for the ceremony. He said he was trying to keep things lighthearted while preparing for the big night. But he admitted that the joke went too far. “It wasn’t funny,” he said. “The whole thing was too much for me to bear.”
He added: “I reacted emotionally. I’m human. I’ve been there. You don’t want to make anyone feel uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to hurt anybody. My intention was never to hurt anybody. But sometimes you say something and you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, what am I doing?'”
Will Smith said he felt terrible about the situation and apologized to Rock. “What happened was wrong,” he said. “And I regret it. And I apologize to everybody involved. There are no excuses. I shouldn’t have done that. I shouldn’t have acted out of emotion. I should have thought better.”
Rock posted a photo of himself with Will Smith on Instagram following the incident. In the caption, he wrote: “Thank u @williamslayyoprah for being such a good sport. We laughed & we cried together. Love u buddy.”
Actor Will Smith addresses Chris Rock slap in Trevor Noah interview
Will Smith took issue with comedian Chris Rock during his appearance on “The Daily Show.” In the segment, Will Smith discussed the recent controversy surrounding Rock slapping him during a standup routine. Will Smith told Trevor Noah he didn’t want to talk about it because he thought it was funny. He went on to say that Rock had apologized and that he accepted the apology. But Smith added that he still felt like Rock needed to apologize again. Rock responded to Smith’s comments on Twitter, saying, “I’m sorry you feel that way,” adding, “You’re my brother. I love you.”
“Hurt people hurt people”: Will Smith opens up in first major interview since slapping Chris Rock
In his first major interview since the incident, Will Smith opened up about what happened during the ceremony. He told Trevor Noah on “TheDaily Show,” “I lost it.”
He continued, “Chris Rock had just done something really funny… I don’t know how to explain it. But I’m like, ‘Oh my God.’ And I went off on him. I think I did it because I felt disrespected, you know?”
Rock later apologized for making jokes about Smith’s wife, saying, “I apologize to Mr. Smith and Ms. Pinkett-Smith for anything that I might have said onstage in jest that offended them personally.”
But Will Smith wasn’t having it. In fact, he didn’t even want to attend the Oscars again.
“I was very upset,” he admitted. “And I was like, ‘You know what? You’re not allowed to come to my house anymore.'”
Will Smith added, “So I never got to see the movie.”
Culture
The actor opened up to Trevor Noah about what happened during the show, saying that it wasn’t just about being upset with Rock’s jokes. “I’m gonna tell you something,” Smith told Noah. “This isn’t about me getting mad at him; this is about me getting mad at myself.” He continued, “I had been holding onto anger for a long time… I felt like I couldn’t let go because I didn’t want to lose my job.”
Smith went on to say that he was “trying to hold it together” during the awards show, but the pressure got too much and he snapped. “I don’t know why I did it,” he admitted. “But I do know that I lost control.”
He added, “I’ve never done anything like that before. Never. And I feel terrible about it.”
Noah asked Smith how he could forgive himself for the incident. “You’re human,” Smith responded. “And we make mistakes.”
Smith concluded, “If there’s one thing I learned tonight, it’s that you gotta forgive yourself. You gotta forgive yourself.”
Fresh Air
Interview With ‘Suicide Squad’ Star Will Smith
Will Smith sat down with Terry Gross for her weekly podcast “Fresh Air.” He talked about his Oscar win, his family, and what it was like working with Jared Leto on Suicide Squad.