Will Smith on Oscars slap: 'A rage that had been bottled for a really long time'
"I was going through something that night," actor tells The Daily Show's Trevor Noah
Aoife MoriartyCulture Writer
Hollywood actor Will Smith (Image: Paul Morigi/WireImage)
Will Smith is promoting his new film and understandably has had to address the biggest story of last year's Oscars: slapping comedian Chris Rock live on stage after a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Appearing on The Daily Show in the US, the actor revealed how he feels about it now, the impact it's had and what caused the 'unjustifiable' moment of aggression.
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Speaking to host Trevor Noah on Monday night, Smith said: "That was a horrific night, as you can imagine. There's many nuances and complexities to it.
"But at the end of the day, I just – I lost it. And I guess what I would say... You just never know what somebody's going through.
The Hollywood star added: "I was going through something that night. Not that that justifies my behaviour at all.
I would just say, you're asking what did I learn, and it's that we just gotta be nice to each other, man... And I guess the thing that was most painful for me is I took my heart and made it hard for other people."
Discussing what caused the incident, Smith 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.
"I just – that's not who I want to be... It's like, that's not who I want to be, man."
"I was gone, dude... I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time," he added.
Emancipation – the lowdown
The 54-year-old actor's new Apple TV Plus film, Emancipation, tells the story of an escaped slave in the Deep South at the dawn of abolition.
It's inspired by a harrowing photograph of a former slave's back mutilated by whipping scars in 1863, first published in US magazine Harper's Weekly.
The image formed part of the Abolitionist Movement in the US at the time and contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.
Speaking in the same interview, Smith said he hoped his prior actions at the Oscars would not negatively impact the work of his colleagues on the new film.
"Emancipation is Antoine's masterpiece," the actor said, referring to the film's director Antoine Fuqua.
"He has created an absolute masterpiece. Bob Richardson the DP (director of photography), Ben Foster (co-star), and just all the way down.
"These top artists in the world have done some of the best work of their career. And the idea that they might be denied because of me is like, 'uuurgh'. That is killing me dead, you know.
"The thing that is so critical for me is these people came and they trusted me and they were down for me.
"I just hope that their work will be honoured, and their work will not be tainted based on a horrific decision on my part."
Emancipation is set for release on Apple TV Plus on Friday, 9 December.
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