After slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, Will Smith claims he “reached out” to him, but the comedian has stated he is “not ready to talk.”
After the comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife at the Academy Awards in March, the actor smacked Rock on stage.
Smith renewed his apology in a video that he published on Friday in which he reflected on the slap. This was the first time Smith had been seen talking about the incident.
“Chris, I apologise to you. My behaviour was unacceptable,” he said.
“I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Smith has only ever made written statements regarding the altercation in the past. He responded to questions that seem to have been submitted by fans in the video on his personal YouTube account.
He spoke to the camera directly while reading out the questions.
“I spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuances and the complexities of what happened in that moment,” the actor said.
“I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment… There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment.”
Smith explained: “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out.”
Additionally, he said that Jada Pinkett Smith did not ask him to defend her after Rock made the joke. Jada wasn’t involved, according to Smith.
“I want to say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
Chris Rock had targeted Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, which was a result of her alopecia condition.
In a recent interview, Pinkett Smith expressed her “deepest hope” that her husband and Rock will “reconcile” following the incident.
After the slap, she had earlier stated on her social media that it was a “season for healing.”