Will Smith opened up about THAT Chris Rock slap at the Oscars in one of his first interviews since the infamous incident.
Fear Of The Oscars Incident Affecting Success of ‘Emancipation‘
It seems just like yesterday that the internet went into a frenzy when Will Smith shockingly slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. Will Smith is currently carrying out his media duties to promote his upcoming film, Emancipation directed by Antoine Fuqua. He indulged in an unfiltered and emotional interview with Trevor Noah on The Daily Show.
Will Smith fears that the Oscars incident might harm the success of his new film’ Emancipation’ at the box office. He hopes that the hard work of countless talented individuals who worked on the film doesn’t get tainted because of his prior actions. Smith said that very thought “is killing me dead.” He stated, “The people on this team have done some of the best work of their entire careers, and my deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalize my team.” He even termed it as “the best work” of director Fuqua’s career thus far. The veteran actor would go on to say that he completely understands if people are hesitant to watch this movie after the Oscars incident.
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Looking Back At The Bottled Rage Laden Moment
Will Smith explained to Trevor Noah that he was “going through something that night.” He didn’t expand on what this ‘something’ was but exclaimed he “just lost it.” Smith described it as a ‘horrific’ night. It was a moment when bottled rage was finally uncapped.
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What Did Will Smith Take Away From The Night?
Smith simply explained that the incident made him self-reflect and that “we just gotta be nice to each other, man.” He lives with the pain that his hurt self went on to make hurt others and make life hard for them too.
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Childhood Memories Revisit and Haunt Will Smith
Will Smith really laid it all out in the interview with Noah and talked about aspects of his life he’s rarely touched upon publicly before. He connected his response to Chris Rock’s joke to moments from his childhood. “It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother. All of that just bubbled up in that moment,” the Academy Award Winner added.
Smith got emotional recalling how his nine-year old nephew Dom watched ‘Uncle Will’ that night on television. Later, while sitting on Will’s lap and holding his Oscar, Dom asked, “Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?” That shattered the actor’s heart. He termed the moment as a ‘mess‘ and how it isn’t the individual he wanted to be. He always “wanted to be Superman” flying in to “save the damsel in distress.” That’s what he thought he was doing that night at the award ceremony. Now, Smith is learning to be human. A human with flaws.
Trevor Noah Provides Words Of Comfort
After Will Smith mentioned how he’s accepted that he’s a flawed human-being, Noah stepped in. He supported words of comfort to his guest and friend. Noah told Smith, “I hope you know you don’t always have to bottle it up. You not being perfect is what’ll make you perfect. You’re Will Smith, man!” He wants Smith to accept that no human is perfect and how every human learns to be okay with their flaws.
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What Exactly Went Down At The Oscars?
Comedian Chris Rock made fun of Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, cracked a G.I Joe joke on stage and called Jada ‘G.I. Jada‘. This was initially received with uncomfortable laughter from Will Smith’s end. Jada meanwhile rolled her eyes at the joke. Jokes at the expense of his wife’s medical condition was too much for Will Smith to tolerate. Soon, an outburst of emotions overcame the actor. He would go on to the stage and slap Rock in front of an audience of A-list celebrities and on live television with millions watching. Jada shaved off her head as she suffers from the medical condition, alopecia. The shocking moment caught everyone off-guard. Many contemplated whether this was a scripted skit between the duo. But it was in fact, very real. Smith would then scream “keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth,” at Rock twice.
The same night Will Smith would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Actor for his exemplary performance in King Richard. Smith later issued a public apology in addition to an apology to Chris Rock.
He was consequently banned from attending the Oscars for ten years.
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