The Oscars are just days away, but the 2022 ceremony is still being talked about – a year after Will Smith slapped host Chris Rock on the stage. In a recent interview, Richard Williams, father of pro tennis players Venus and Serena Williams, defended Smith, who played him in the movie King Richard.
In an interview with Britain’s Good Morning Britain, Williams, 81, said she would always be there for Smith, who received widespread backlash for her on-stage applause. The Oscars were banned for 10 years.
After The Rock compared Jada Pinkett Smith to the Jane Jane character, she went bald due to a baldness diagnosis. alopeciaSmith quickly took to the stage and knocked out the comedian.
The day after the incident, Smith apologized – to Rock, the Academy and the Williams family, who were in the audience that night. “I am deeply sorry that my behavior has spoiled what was a wonderful trip for all of us,” he said in part.
“I think he did the best he could,” Richard Williams told Noel Phillips. “But I would never be disgusted with Mr. Smith. Actually, I appreciated Mr. Smith.”
Minutes after the attack, Smith returned to the stage to accept the best actor award for “King Richard,” in which Williams played a mentor to his daughters for greatness.
Williams said Smith’s ban from the Oscars should be lifted and it’s time for everyone to forgive the actor.
About a year after the attack, Rock released his first public comedy about the incident. During “Chris Rock: Selective Rage.” live on Netflix this week, The Rock joked, “Anybody who says something offensive doesn’t get punched in the face.”
“You know what happened to me, Suge Smith beat him. Everybody knows,” Rock said, referring to former music executive and convicted felon Suge Knight. It still hurts. “Summer” rang in my ears.
Smith also spoke publicly about the hit interview with Trevor Noah last November. “I went through something that night. It doesn’t excuse my behavior,” he said. “You’re asking what I learned, and we were supposed to be good to each other, man. It’s hard. I think the hardest thing for me is that I took my own trouble and made it harder for other people.”
Caitlin O’Kane
