Four months after slapping comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars, shocking the public and prompting a decade-long ban on attending the ceremony, Will Smith released a video on Friday expressing his regret for the incident and promising he would make a “personal work” to address his behavior.
“It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know that I haven’t lived up to the image and the impression that people have of me,” Mr Smith said in the video. “I’m deeply remorseful, and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself, right? I’m human and I made a mistake.
Mr Smith, who resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences days after the ceremony, apologized to many people during the nearly six-minute video – starting with Mr Rock, who made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head shortly. before Mr Smith came along and slapped him live on TV. (Ms Pinkett Smith has been open about her problems with alopecia, a condition which causes hair loss, and in a statement shortly after the incident, Mr Smith said that a joke about the condition of his wife was “too much for me to bear.”
“Chris, I apologize to you,” Mr. Smith said in the video. “My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Shortly after the attack, Mr Smith won the Academy Award for Best Actor. In the video, he explained that he did not apologize to Mr. Rock during his speech because he was “foggy” over the incident.
Mr Smith said he tried to contact Mr Rock later but received a message in response saying the comedian was not ready to speak and would contact him when he was. Mr Smith has apologized to Mr Rock’s family, including his mother, Rosalie Rock, who gave a TV interview saying: ‘When you hurt my child, you hurt me.’
He also apologized to his own family “for the warmth I brought to all of us”, as well as to the other nominees that night for tarnishing their moment.
Ms Pinkett Smith has said little about her own experience of that night, but last month she centered an episode of her online talk show, Red Table Talk, on alopecia, interviewing a woman whose daughter 12 year old committed suicide as she result of bullying on condition.
Regarding the slap, Ms Pinkett Smith said: ‘My deepest hope is that these two intelligent and capable men will have the opportunity to heal, to talk about it and to reconcile.’
Mr. Rock has not publicly discussed his response to the deep attack, but earlier this week during a comedy show in Brooklyn, Mr. Rock mentioned it in a joke. During a part of his set focusing on victimhood, he told the crowd that after Mr Smith slapped him, he shook him off and ‘went to work the next day’, prompting loud applause public. A representative for Mr. Rock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In Friday’s video, Mr Smith appeared to be struggling to repair his reputation and reassure fans that his behavior at the ceremony did not reflect who he really was, saying: ‘There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave at the time.”
“I know it was shocking, but I promise you that I am deeply dedicated and committed to bringing light, love and joy into the world,” he concluded. “If you hang in there, I promise you we can be friends again.”
Melena Ryzik and Jason Zinoman contributed reporting.