Oscars producer praises Will Smith for being “transparent”
It’s been many months since Will Smith took to the stage to slap presenter and comedian Chris Rock across the face for telling a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
A pop-culture moment in time that won’t be forgotten anytime soon, Smith has been trying to repair his public image ever since the incident, recently making a statement online in which he apologised to the influential American comedian. Speaking in the video, Smith, the star of I am Legend and Bad Boys, stated: “There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults”.
Now, the Oscars producer Will Packer has responded to the apology, commending the actor in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in which he stated, “I love the fact that he’s being so transparent about his process. He is being very public and honest and open about his remorse”.
Continuing, he adds, “I think that he’s got three decades in this business of being somebody that is the exact opposite of who he was in those few seconds, and so I’m pulling for him”.
Meanwhile, Smith is planning a future return to cinema with I am Legend 2, with the sequel to the 2007 movie in the pipeline, where he will buddy up with Creed and Black Panther star Michael B. Jordan, with the pair also serving as producers for the new film. Playing the loneliest man in New York City, the well-known blockbuster followed a plague that kills off the majority of humanity, leaving Smith’s Robert Neville alone in the city to find a cure.
Take a look at Smith’s full apology to Chris Rock, below.
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