It’s been months since the 2022 Academy Awards. It was supposed to be just another hosting gig for comedian-actor Chris Rock, but the events that transpired put him at the center of yet another awards controversy. This time, however, it wasn’t just a case of the wrong winner being announced on stage. Instead, after making a comment about Jada Pinkett-Smith and a possible GI Jane 2he was physically assaulted by fellow actor Will Smith.
As well as being the crowning achievement for the best stars in the film, the event is now remembered for the infamous “Will Smith slap” on comedian Chris Rock. Will punched the host after his comment about Jada – a joke he didn’t find particularly funny. However, the actor recently apologized to Chris via video message, thanks to his wife’s constant pressure.
Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock
Will Smith has finally apologized to Chris Rock for punching him on stage at the Oscars after the comedian made an off-script comment about the actor’s wife Jada, apparently unaware of her journey with alopecia and hair loss.
In the online post, he admitted: “Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.”
And once again, Will apologized to Chris via video through his YouTube channel. At the start of the video, a message on the screen reads: “It’s been a minute…Over the last few months I’ve been thinking a lot and doing a lot of personal work. You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take the time to answer.”
The actor then answered questions that appeared on the screen. He said he did not apologize to Chris in his acceptance speech because he was “chewed out” and his memories remain hazy.
He explained: “I’ve been in touch with Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he’ll reach out.”
He added: “So I want to say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here when you’re ready to talk.”
Not only did Will express regret for what he did to the comedian, but he also sent his apology to Chris’ family. “I saw an interview his mother did. That’s one of the things about that moment I didn’t realize, I didn’t think, but how many people were hurt in that moment, he explained.
He then continued: “So I want to apologize to Chris’ mother; I want to apologize to the family of Chris, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable.”
Later in the video, Will said, “I’m not going to try to unpack all of this right now, but I can tell you, there was no part of me that thought that was the right way to behave in that moment.”
With the apologies from Will, who reflected on his behavior when he addressed the Academy, Chris Rock and his family, many are wondering if Jada Pinkett Smith was behind it.
An insider of Us Weekly even revealed that the actor never really wanted to apologize publicly but had to give in because of his wife.
Did Jade pressure Will Smith into a public apology?
With the apologies from Will, who reflected on his behavior when he addressed the Academy, Chris Rock and his family, many are wondering if Jada Pinkett Smith was behind it. An Us Weekly insider even revealed that the actor never really wanted to apologize publicly, but had to give in because of his wife.
The insider told the publication that Jada was the one who convinced Will to publicly apologize to his co-star for punching him on live TV at the 94th annual Academy Awards in March 2022.
“Jada has also pushed Will to apologize because it’s become this really dark cloud over her Red Table Talk series,” the source revealed.
It was also revealed that Will has been “in hell” since the incident and wanted to find a way to “move on” without talking about the bang again. The insider also said: “His team had hoped the controversy would die down, but it just hasn’t. It would be impossible for him to proceed successfully unless he [addressed the slap].”
The incident was really a huge scandal for the Academy Awards, although some actually thought it was good for their publicity. On the one hand, there are those who believe Will Smith was justified in his actions after Chris joked about Jada’s alopecia-induced baldness. But the majority agree that it was out of line.
Thank God, the actor apologized for what he has done, although he was supposedly forced by his wife.
