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| Will makes another apology to Chris Rock. |
The slap will be one of the most memorable things about 2022. Media mogul Will Smith went on stage at the Academy Awards and literally slapped comedian Chris Rock after he told a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
"Keep my wife's name out your fucking mouth!" will be a meme that carries on forever.
The entertainer won an Oscar for his role as Richard Williams, the father of Venus and Serena Williams. He tearfully said that he believes that family had to be defended no matter how tasteless it was from Rock.
The backlash cane swift.
Smith resigned from the Board of Governors and the Academy Awards banned him from attending the ceremony for ten years. A handful of projects he was supposed to be participating in were pulled indefinitely.
Smith entered into a therapy session and traveled overseas to get spiritual support from alleged Scientologists.
Rock, on the other hand had been very quiet about the slap. He did not press charges against Smith. But the comedian basically did not accept any apology from Will or Jada.
Jada suffers from alopecia. It is a condition where a person sustaining sudden baldness.
She had decided to shave her head and shared her thoughts on Red Table Talks on the Facebook Watch network.
Will has been very public about apologizing to Rock. He did another apology to Rock and his brother Tony.
Tony Rock said that he is "done" with Will and Jada and dared them to come after him when he decides to joke.
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| The world saw this moment in American history. |
“I was fogged out by that point. It is all fuzzy. I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that, he’s not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk. I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview [she] did, and that was one of the things I just didn’t realize. I wasn’t thinking, but how many people got hurt in that moment. I want to apologize to Chris’ mother, I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable. I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuance and complexity of what happened in that moment. I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. No part of me that thinks that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insult.”
Smith addressed whether his wife prompted his decision to run up to the stage from his front row seat, to strike a stunned Rock in the middle of his presentation of the Best Documentary award that was won by Questlove for Summer of Soul. Rock handled it in as stoic a fashion as could be imagined, carrying on after saying, ‘Will Smith just slapped the shit out of me,’ as the actor took his seat and yelled for Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth. Smith answered the question as follows:
“No. I made a choice on my own, from my own experience, and my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, babe, and I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
He also apologized to the nominees whose Oscars went unnoticed, because viewers were so stunned by the slap. That included Jessica Chastain, who won Best Actress, and the cast of CODA, which won Best Picture.
“To all my fellow nominees, this is a community. I won because you voted for me and it really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment. I can still see Questlove’s eyes – it happened on Questlove’s award – and I am sorry isn’t really sufficient.”
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| Chris ain't accepting apologies. |
Finally, Smith finished with this:
“Two things. One, disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down, so it hurts me psychologically and emotionally that I didn’t live up to peoples’ image and impression of me. The work I am trying to do is, I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself. I’m human and I made a mistake and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of shit so I would say to those people, I know it was confusing, I know it was shocking, but I promise you I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world. If you hang on, I promise we will be able to be friends again.”
Rock only made this in regards to the apology..... “If everybody claims to be a victim, then nobody will hear the real victims,” Rock said. “Even me getting smacked by Suge Smith ... I went to work the next day, I got kids.”
Rock is not accepting apologies. It was a humiliating moment in American history. He will be forever seared with the infamy of being slapped by an actor after telling a joke.
Because of that, Dave Chappelle, Craig Robinson and others became victims of attacks.
Comedy clubs now are enforcing weapon bans, no personal contact and disclaimer warnings for those who are triggered to not attend.
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