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Will Smith breaks down in tears explaining 'bottled up rage' behind Oscars slap in first TV interview since incident

Home> Entertainment

Published 15:25 29 Nov 2022 GMT

Will Smith breaks down in tears explaining 'bottled up rage' behind Oscars slap in first TV interview since incident

Will Smith has spoken about how he 'just lost it' at the Oscars

Joe Harker

Joe Harker

Will Smith has spoken out about the infamous Oscars slap in his first TV interview since getting onto the stage at the academy awards and hitting Chris Rock.

For those who need their memory jogging, the King Richard star was sitting in the Oscars audience with wife Jada Pinkett Smith when host Chris Rock made a joke about her baldness.

Rock quipped 'Jada, I love you, GI Jane two, can't wait to see it' which drew some laughs from the crowd, but seconds later was slapped in the face by Will Smith, who then yelled 'keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth'.

Smith would go on to win the Best Actor award at the same ceremony, apologising that 'love will make you do crazy things' during his acceptance speech.

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The actor ended up resigning from the Academy in the wake of the slap, and was banned from attending the awards ceremony for the next 10 years.

Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo

Speaking on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, the Oscar winning actor reflected on the moment from the awards ceremony everyone ended up talking about.

He said: "At the end of the day I just, I lost it. I guess what I would say is you just never know what somebody's going through.

"In the audience right now you're sitting next to strangers. Somebody's mother died last week, somebody's child is sick, somebody's just lost their job, somebody's found out their spouse cheated."

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"Not that that justifies my behaviour at all, you're asking what did I learn. We've just got to be nice to each other man, it's hard. I guess the thing that was most painful for me is I took my heart and make it hard for other people."

"I understood the idea when they say 'hurt people hurt people'."

Will Smith became emotional as he talked about what caused him to slap Chris Rock.
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Noah chipped in to say that just after the slap one of his friends said they thought they 'saw the real Will Smith' in that moment, but the host thought it was entirely the opposite and the slap hadn't revealed the actor's true character.

Smith delved further into the reasons behind the infamous slap, explaining it was 'not who I want to be'.

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He said: "It was a lot of things, it was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother. All of that just bubbled up in that moment.

"That's not who I want to be, you've known me for a long time so you know me personally so you know, but y'all might not know. That's not who I want to be, man."

Smith has previously said he still 'loses sleep' over the slap and the impact it has had on him.

Featured Image Credit: The Daily Show/ Reuters/Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Will Smith, Oscars, Celebrity

Joe Harker
Joe Harker

Joe graduated from the University of Salford with a degree in Journalism and worked for Reach before joining the LADbible Group. When not writing he enjoys the nerdier things in life like painting wargaming miniatures and chatting with other nerds on the internet. He's also spent a few years coaching fencing. Contact him via [email protected]

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@MrJoeHarker

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