Actor Will Smith shared an emotional video to his YouTube channel Friday in which he apologized for slapping comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
The video, titled “It’s been a minute…” opened with text claiming Smith had spent much of the last few months “doing a lot of thinking and personal work.” While he used the video to apologize to Rock, he also took the time to answer a number of questions from fans regarding the incident.
When asked why he didn’t apologize during his acceptance speech after winning the “Best Actor” award at the ceremony, Smith claimed he was “fogged out” and the entire situation was “all fuzzy.” He quickly noted that he’s reached out to Rock since the attack, but was told the comedian isn’t ready to talk, but that he’ll reach out when he is, according to Smith’s statements.
“Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” Smith stated in the video. “I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview that Chris’s mother did and, you know, that was one of the things about that moment, I just didn’t realize, and, you know, I wasn’t thinking, about how many people got hurt in that moment.”
He also apologized to the rest of Rock’s family, including his brother, Tony. However, he conceded that “this is probably irreparable.” (RELATED: Will Smith’s ‘Slapgate’ Has Fractured Both Political Parties)
“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right to behave in that moment,” Smith continued. He also noted, smiling, that his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, had nothing to do with the slap, and she did not encourage his behavior. Footage from the Oscars ceremony appeared to show Pinkett Smith laughing at her husband’s attack on Rock.
“I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of sh*t,” Smith said in response to a question regarding how people who used to look up to Smith and felt let down by his behavior. Watch the rest of Smith’s apology here: