Willow Smith on her father Will Smith’s Oscar slap: “Because of the position that we’re in, our humanness sometimes isn’t accepted”
Willow Smith has spoken out about the reaction to her father’s Oscar slap. Back in March, Will Smith famously hit Chris Rock in response to a joke about his wife’s alopecia and he has been occupying column inches ever since.
In a recent interview with Billboard, Willow Smith has spoken about how the incident rocked the family, but that they have contended with it calmly and focused on their own issues. As Willow Smith stated, the slap didn’t “rock me as much as my own internal demons.”
Willow Smith, who is a musician and emoter in her own right, stated: “I see my whole family as being human, and I love and accept them for all their humanness.” However, she added: “Because of the position that we’re in, our humanness sometimes isn’t accepted.”
She then continued to assert that celebrities and stars of great fortune are held to a higher standard of behaviour. “We’re expected to act in a way that isn’t conducive to a healthy human life and isn’t conducive to being honest,” she added. While it is true that the incident naturally drew more attention owing to the celebrity status of those involved, aside from that patently obvious element, many have commented that it still wouldn’t be regarded as acceptable human behaviour in any walk of life.
Nevertheless, as she stated, we are all fallible and Will Smith has often cited his regret over the incident. Last month, he made a public statement saying: “I will say to you, Chris. I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.” While Rock has quietly accepted the apology, he has also informed his aggressor that he isn’t ready to talk.
While Willow Smith might have been affected by her father’s actions, Will also commented on how the reverse is true for Rock. “I want to apologise to Chris’ mother. I saw an interview that Chris’ mother did, and that was one of the things about that moment… I just didn’t realise, I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment,” he stated.
While it is only natural that Willow Smith has been brought into the fallout, aside from the comments above, she is looking forward to her own pursuits and the release of her new album Coping Mechanism, which is due for release next month.
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