A few days before the release of his new film Emancipation, on Apple TV +, Will Smith gave an interview to the Sunday newspaper, December 4, 2022. He returned to the slap he gave during the 2022 Oscars ceremony .
Since March 27, 2022, Will Smith is very discreet. The reason : the slap he gave Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. The famous comedian went on stage in reaction to a joke in bad taste from the presenter of the evening on his wife. Indeed, comedian Chris Rock had allowed himself a joke on the bald head of Jada Pinkett Smith, actress and wife of Will Smith, who suffers from alopecia and therefore loses her hair. Immediately, Will Smith took the stage and simply slapped the comedian before telling him to shut up and never talk about his wife like that again.
The repercussions of this slap were significant. If the same evening, Will Smith went on stage to collect his first Oscar in the Best Actor category for his role in The Williams Method, he was banned by the Academy of Oscars from attending its events for 10 years. However, it can still be named. Since the altercation, he has also taken care to apologize to Chris Rock. Today, the actor is preparing to return to the front of the stage with the film Emancipationon Apple TV+, available from December 9, 2022. On this occasion, he answered questions from the Sunday newspaperDecember 4, 2022. He returned to this incident.
Will Smith hopes this slap won’t follow him his whole life
“This slap made me spend a few difficult months. I hope that the film crew does not suffer the consequences of what was one of the worst moments of my life and my career, and that all the incredible artists who collaborated on Emancipation will receive the rewards that they deserve. And if I am invited again to the ceremony, I will make sure to take the necessary pills to keep me quiet!“, he launched with a touch of humor. A few days earlier, in the show The Daily Showhosted by Trevor Noah, he had already returned to this episode of his life of which he is not proud.
“I always wanted to step in and save the damsel in distress. I had to be humble and realize that I am an imperfect human being. I was no longer myself, there was this rage that had been locked up inside me for a very long time“, he launched, acknowledging that he had gone too far in his gesture. In July 2022, in a video shared on his social networks, he had even offered the comedian a meeting. For the time being, we do not know if the two men had the opportunity to see each other and exchange. In the meantime, the 54-year-old actor has resigned from the academy himself. He simply hopes that his next collaborations will not suffer from his actions and that ‘they will be received and criticized at fair value and failed just because it is part of the project.