Will Smith has spoken out about slapping Chris Rock at this year's Oscars, addressing claims that his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, 'told him to do something' by rolling her eyes.
You can watch the clip below:
In a new video shared on his YouTube channel, Smith sat down to answer questions he had been asked since the incident at the Academy Awards in March.
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Titled 'It's been a minute', it's the first time Smith has addressed the incident, which saw him banned from Academy events for 10 years.
Discussing whether Pinkett Smith had 'told him to do something', Smith made it pretty clear that it was nothing to do with his reaction, explaining: "No. It's like, you know, I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with it.
"I'm sorry babe. I wanna say sorry to my kids and my family, for the heat that I brought on all of us."
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Smith slapped Rock while he was presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Oscars ceremony.
The shocking moment occurred after the comedian made a joke about Pinkett Smith, referencing the actor's shaved head – which is due to her suffering from alopecia – by comparing her appearance to that of G.I. Jane.
She looked pretty unamused by the joke, and rolled her eyes, but moments later, Smith could be seen heading onstage where he approached Rock and slapped him.
Returning to his seat, the King Richard star proceeded to shout back, "Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth."
In his recent YouTube video, Smith also responded to a question about why he didn't apologise to Rock in his acceptance speech, after he won an Oscar for his performance in King Richard.
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"I was fogged out by that point. It's all fuzzy. I've reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk. And when he is, he will reach out," he said.
"So I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
He added: "I want to apologise to Chris's mother. I saw an interview that Chris's mother did and, you know, that was one of the things about that moment I just didn't realise, and, you know, I wasn't thinking, but how many people got hurt in that moment. So I want to apologise to Chris's mother.
"I want to apologise to Chris's family. Specifically, Tony Rock [Chris' younger brother]. You know, we had a great relationship. You know, Tony Rock was my man. And this is probably irreparable."
Topics: Celebrity, Chris Rock, Will Smith, Oscars
Lucy Devine