Will Smith broke into tears in an emotional interview about that Oscar slap.
During the 94th Academy Awards back on March 27, 2022, Hollywood legend Will Smith notoriously stormed the stage and slapped presenter and comedian Chris Rock in the face after the latter made a G.I. Jane joke about Jada Pinkett’s alopecia.
The actor has since apologized and expressed his shame over his actions in a lengthy Instagram post.
Now, he also spoke to The Daily Show with Trevor Noah to recall feeling ‘shame’ upon arriving back home that night to find his 9-year-old nephew questioning his slap.
“My little nephew Dom is nine.
He is the sweetest little boy. We came home. He had stayed up late to see his uncle Will, and we are sitting in my kitchen, and he is on my lap, and he is holding the Oscar, and he is just like, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?’” Smith recalled in his first talk show interview since the arguably most controversial moment in Oscars history.
Becoming overcome with emotions, the Emancipation star pulled out a tissue and continued: “Damn it. Why are you trying to Oprah me?
“It was a mess, you know. I don’t want to go too far into it to give people more to misunderstand.”
Later in the interview to promote his new movie, he added: “There’s many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day, I just… I lost it, you know?”
While Smith admitted his personal matters at the time do not justify his behavior that night, he insisted he was “going through” some things and that the “rage that had been bottled for a really long time” all came out against the Oscars presenter.
“It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That is not who I want to be,” he continued. “I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time.”
Despite all the backlash, however, the actor hopes his actions won’t affect how the public perceives his new movie, Emancipation.
“Emancipation is Antonie’s [Fuqua] masterpiece.
He has created an absolute masterpiece. Bob Richardson, the DP, Ben Foster and just all the way down, it’s these top artists in the world that have done some of the best work in their career. And the idea that they might be denied because of me… that’s killing me dead, you know,” he said.
“The thing that is so critical for me is these people came and they trusted me and they were down for me and I just hope that their work will be honored and their work will not be tainted by a horrific decision on my part.”
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