Will Smith has opened up about his 10-year ban from the Oscars following his infamous 2022 Academy Awards appearance. During an interview with the Associated Press posted on Monday (March 24), the 56-year-old actor was asked about the ban and how he feels about it three years after he slapped Chris Rock on stage. Smith was humble in his answer, asserting that he is “looking to be the best human I can possibly be, and I’m gonna take what I get with that.”
In a separate piece with the outlet, Smith detailed how the adversity he faced from his actions that fateful March 2022 night led him to create his first album in 20 years. The Oscar-award-winning entertainer explained that the fallout from attacking Chris Rock allowed him to rediscover his love for music, where he channeled his pain.
“I’ve taken the last couple of years to really do a deep dive on the parts of me that may or may not been in that level of certainty and asking those deep scary internal questions,” Smith told the outlet regarding his LP, Based on a True Story. “It really is the result of my initial self-examination. Every song is about some part of myself that I discovered or wanted to explore, something I wanted to share. It’s the most full musical offering that I’ve ever created.”
In July 2022, Smith formally apologized to Rock for his actions. The King Richard thespian delivered a personal statement to Rock, labeling his actions as “unacceptable and harmful behavior.” “Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk,” the Fresh Prince said.
The acclaimed comedian rejected Will Smith’s apology, telling the multihyphenate, “F**k your hostage video.” However, Chris Rock recently spoke to Variety, and his stance on the matter appeared to shift.
Rock, 60, revisited Smith and whether or not he would host the award show again, saying, “You never know. This is what I would say, the most miserable people on earth are people that can’t forgive. And not just people, you have to forgive yourself sometimes, too. So, hey, you never know… I live in forgiveness. True love starts at forgiveness.”
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