Will Smith tells Trevor Noah ‘I’m a flawed human’ after Oscars slap
Will Smith said he has “had to humble down” in the months since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars — an incident that rocked the entertainment industry and tarnished his image as an unflappable Golden Boy.
“I understand how shocking that was for people,” Smith told host Trevor Noah on the “Daily Show” on Monday night, in the actor’s first late-night interview since the Oscars in March.
“There’s many nuances and complexities to it,” Smith said, “but at the end of the day, I just — I lost it.”
“I had to humble down and realize that I’m a flawed human,” he said, reflecting on the past few months.
Smith has kept relatively quiet in the months since he climbed onstage during the 94th Academy Awards and slapped Rock after the comedian made a joke about actress Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith’s wife, that hinged on her shaved head. The actress has spoken about her struggles with alopecia, or hair loss. Smith walked up to Rock and slapped him across the face. After he sat down, he yelled: “Keep my wife’s
name out your [ expletive] mouth.”
Smith’s violent act became the focal point of the ceremony, but that night was also a highlight of his career, as the actor took home his first Oscar — best actor — for playing Richard Williams, father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in “King Richard.”
Smith publicly apologized for
his actions in the days following, and since then.
“The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” he said in an April statement announcing his resignation from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.