Will Smith blames “bottled rage” for Chris Rock slap at the Oscars
In his latest conversation regarding the infamous incident at the Oscars last spring, Will Smith blamed “bottled rage” as the driving factor behind his decision to slap Chris Rock.
While promoting his new film, Emancipation, on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, Smith once again commented on his actions of March 27th. “I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behaviour at all,” he said, asserting that there were “many nuances and complexities to it…I just… I lost it”.
Discussing what he had learned from the incident, Smith said, “What I would say is that you just never know what somebody’s going through. I understand how shocking that was for people… I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time. That was a horrific night, as you can imagine.”
Smith also revealed that he “understands” if people feel uncomfortable supporting his new film in light of his controversial actions at the Oscars ceremony.
“I completely understand. If someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready,” Smith said. “My deepest concern is my team – Antoine has done what I think is the greatest work of his entire career.”
“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 penalise my team. At this point, that’s what I’m working for. I’m hoping that the material – the power of the film, the timeliness of the story – I’m hoping that the good that can be done would open people’s hearts at a minimum to see and recognise and support the incredible artists in and around this film.”
Will Smith’s brand new film, Emancipation, is set for release via Apple TV+ on December 9th. Watch the official trailer below.
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