Months after Chris Rock and Will Smith made headlines at the 94th Academy Awards, Smith on Friday, 29 July, expressed remorse over the Oscars slap.
He took to social media to share his apology. He opened the video with a question, "Why didn't you apologise to Chris in your acceptance speech?"
Will then continued to respond to the question, stating, "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."
Will also apologised to Chris' family in the video. He said, "I want to apologize to Chris’ mother, I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable."
He went on to add, "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 added that his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, had nothing to do with the slap.
He also apologised to his fellow nominees and stated that he knew 'sorry isn't sufficient.'
The 53-year-old actor had triggered a massive controversy at this year’s Oscars ceremony after he slapped Chris Rock onstage for a joke on his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her appearance.
A day after the incident, Smith had released a statement on Instagram to apologise.
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