Actor Will Smith addressed the controversy surrounding his Oscars altercation, saying he "completely understands" if people are reluctant to watch his new film considering how things unfolded at the Academy Awards earlier this year.
Smith stars in "Emancipation," set to be released in theaters Dec. 2. The film marks his first on-screen appearance since he was banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years after he walked onstage at the event and hit Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife. In a new interview with Fox 5's "Good Day DC," Smith discussed how his actions may leave some conflicted about supporting the film, and how he feared it might affect its success.
"I completely understand that if someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready," he said when asked by journalist Kevin McCarthy what he "would tell people who say 'I'm not ready' or 'it's too soon'" to watch the actor again.
"The only discomfort my heart has around that is that so many people have done spectacular work on this film," Smith said. "My hope is that my team isn't penalized at all for my actions. I think [director Antoine Fuqua] and [cinematographer Robert Richardson] and Ben and Charmaine — everyone has done such spectacular work.
"I definitely lose a couple of winks of sleep every night thinking that I could have potentially penalized my team, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets seen in the light that they deserve."
Since the 2022 Oscars in March, Smith has apologized publicly to Rock, saying in a YouTube video that he was "ready to talk" whenever the comedian was ready. Despite this, the actor has still received backlash, including from Rock, who blasted Smith in September during a stand-up show with Dave Chappelle at London's O2 arena.
"F**k your hostage video," Rock said in reference to Smith's apology video, according to Deadline staff who were in the audience.
"Yes that s**t hurt," Rock added about the altercation. "He [Smith] played Ali. I can’t even play Floyd Mayweather."
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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