Will Smith Reveals He Reached out to Chris Rock Following Oscars Slap

Will Smith is opening up about his relationship with Chris Rock after slapping the comedian on stage at this year’s Academy Awards. In an emotional new YouTube video, Smith apologized once again for assaulting Rock after the presenter made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, revealing why he didn’t apologize to Rock when he accepted the Best Actor award shortly after for his role in King Richard.

“I was fogged out. It’s all fuzzy,” Smith said in the video. The Oscar winner also noted that he has since extended a line of communication to Rock in private: “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk, and when he is, he will reach out,” Smith said. Apologizing publicly to Rock and his family, the Concussion star continued, “So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

Apologizing to Rock’s mother and younger brother, Tony Rock, Smith said he “wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment,” calling their relationship “probably irreparable.” As the actor fought back tears, he added, “There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”

Despite Rock’s joke about Pinkett Smith looking like “G.I. Jane” amid her alopecia diagnosis, Smith insisted his wife said nothing that spurred him to attack Rock. “It’s like, you know, I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” he explained. “Jada had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, babe. I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”

In the aftermath of the slap, Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, offering up a public apology before taking a step back from the spotlight. The Academy’s board of governors then voted to ban Smith from returning to the Oscars or attending any other Academy events for the next 10 years.