Will Smith was a hero to people, especially millennials who grew up watching him on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and then later enjoyed watching him obliterate aliens in the movie “Independence Day.” Smith was an American icon who could do no wrong until he actually did something that couldn’t be overlooked.
The slap was seen all over the globe. During a speech at the Oscars, Smith walked on stage and physically assaulted Chris Rock after the comedian told an innocent joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s hair.
At that moment, Smith lost a lot of the public’s respect and goodwill. His image was already on the decline thanks to Pinkett-Smith’s admission that she’d been having an affair behind his back, not that he had been very faithful himself.
Smith was something different. The once confident man who kept his cool and always set the example was gone and replaced by someone with a weak ability to control himself, so much so that he’d resort to physical violence over a joke.
Smith tried to reach Rock for a discussion, but Rock declined. Smith was left floundering in the wind, his actions hanging above him. Rock clearly wasn’t prepared to speak about it. Rock was quick to make fun of the situation, especially during an attack against Dave Chappelle from an LGBT radical.
Smith released a video on Friday seemingly answering some questions regarding the infamous encounter between himself and Rock. Uploaded to his YouTube channel, the video titled “It’s been a minute…” addresses the assault directly.
Smith began by answering why he didn’t apologize to Rock during his acceptance speech.
“I was fogged out by that point,” Smith answered. “It’s all fuzzy.”
“So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you,” Smith said. “My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Smith also apologized to Rock’s brother and mother.
“I didn’t realize and I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment,” he continued. So, I wanna apologize to Chris’s mother. I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Toni Rock.”
“We had a great relationship,” added Smith. “Tony Rock was my man. And this is probably irreparable.”
“I can say to all of you that there is no part of me that thinks that there was that was the right way to behave in that moment,” he continued. “There’s no part of me that thinks that that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insult.”
Smith also cleared Pinkett-Smith of any wrongdoing, saying that she didn’t tell him to do anything after she rolled her eyes.
“I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris. Jada had nothing to do with it,” he said.
He apologized for his actions to his family.
At the time of writing, nobody from the Rock family had responded to the video.
It’s likely true that Smith does feel remorse for his actions, but many may not see a good moral compass as the reason why. Smith’s reputation has been severely damaged, making any movies that star him less likely to have the draw that they used to. Many will see his attempt to fix this situation through the video as a desperate effort to salvage his career.
Pinkett Smith is still often seen as the aggressor of the attack. Since the attack, numerous incidents have emerged in which Smith was abused and dismissed by Pinkett Smith. He and her marriage will continue to be an issue.
Smith was more than a mere slap. It was a sort of betrayal for many, and it’s going to be some time before his image is ever recovered if it’s recovered at all. Either way, it’s good that he apologized, and not just to Rock but his family as well.
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