‘I was going through something that night’: Will Smith on infamous Oscars slap
The award-winning actor has opened up about his Chris Rock meltdown and his journey since then
Award-winning actor Will Smith has recounted his journey after the “best and worst” night of his life, months after the infamous Oscars incident.
Smith made headlines in March when he walked on stage while comedian Chris Rock was presenting and slapped him on live TV.
At the March 27 televised ceremony, Smith strode up to the stage after Rock made a joke about the appearance of the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Less than an hour later, Smith gave a tearful speech on stage as he accepted the best actor award for his role in King Richard. After the ceremony, he was seen dancing at Vanity Fair's annual post-Oscars party.
Since then the Oscar-winning actor has apologised for his actions while also being banned for 10 years from any of the film academy's events, including the Oscars.
Smith is now opening up more about the incident as he promotes his upcoming movie Emancipation.
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Speaking to Trevor Noah on The Daily Show on Monday, Smith said the Oscars ceremony was a “horrific night” for him.
“There's many nuances and complexities to it, you know. But at the end of the day, I just lost it, you know. And I guess what I would say, you just never know what somebody's going through.
“I was going through something that night, you know. Not that [that] justifies my behaviour at all,” he said.
Speaking of what he learnt from the incident, the father of three said it was to be “nice to each other” because it's “hard”.
Smith also detailed his head space on the night in question, saying he was “gone” because there was rage he had bottled up for a long time.
The actor said it pained him to know that everyone involved in making Emancipation could be denied their dues at award ceremonies as a result of his actions.
“I hope that their work will be honoured and their work will not be tainted based on a horrific decision on my part,” he said.
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