WASHINGTON: Hollywood star Will Smith spilled the beans about the ongoing controversy over his assault on Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscar Awards and said that he was in a dark place following the incident.
According to TMZ, Will was in a dark place post the incident, but he had a “champion” by his side — Floyd Mayweather. TMZ has quoted Will saying that Floyd Mayweather called him every day for 10 days after the incident, just to make sure he was okay.
TMZ has quoted Will Smith based on a video obtained by TMZ Sports wherein Will could be heard saying, “I want to say something also about Floyd… So, we’ve met each other, we’ve seen each other around, but we weren’t like, friends”
He added, “And, the day after the Oscars, for 10 days he called me every day,” Smith added. “And, he was like, ‘Ay, you know you the champ, right? You good? You know you’re the champ, right? I want you to hear my voice say it.”
“That was every day he called me … and it’s like, that’s my dude forever right there.”
According to TMZ, Smith revealed it at a private showing of his new film ‘Emancipation’ held at a London hotel.
In July this year, Smith took to his Instagram handle and shared an emotional video explaining why he didn’t apologise to Rock after accepting the ‘best actor’ award for his performance in “King Richard” shortly after he slapped the comedian for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s short haircut.
“I was fogged out by that point,” Smith said, explaining why it took so long to offer Rock an apology. “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.”
Smith expressed his guilt for his actions, calling them “unacceptable.” The actor has stated that he reacted violently because Rock’s joke alluded to Pinkett Smith’s hair loss due to alopecia. It’s a struggle that Pinkett Smith has previously addressed publicly.
“That was one of the things about that moment. I just didn’t realize,” Smith reflects. “I wasn’t thinking but many people got hurt at that moment. So I want to apologize to Chris’ mother. I want to apologize to Chris’ family. Specifically, Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. You know, Tony Rock was my man and this is probably irreparable.”
“I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do [with it],” Smith said, before acknowledging the “heat” his wife and kids have taken.
He also addressed how his actions affected his fellow nominees towards the end of the video, saying, “I won because you voted for me.” “It really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment,” Smith said, pointing to Questlove’s reaction, who took the Oscars stage right after the incident for winning best documentary for his project Summer of Soul.” “Sorry isn’t really sufficient.”
Since the Oscars 2022 incident, in which Smith punched presenter and comedian Chris Rock on the Dolby Theatre stage after he made a GI Jane joke about Jada Pinkett’s baldness, Smith has apologised three times in various forms. Smith has been banned from appearing for 10 years post which he even announced his resignation from the Academy. (ANI)