Will Smith Speaks out About Slap at Oscars

On Monday, actor Will Smith spoke out for the first time about the infamous slap at the Oscars. On Trevor Noah’s Daily Show, Smith talked about the incident at the 2022 Academy Awards, where he slapped comedian and actor Chris Rock in the face on stage, after a comment made by Rock pertaining to Smith’s wife.

On the show, Smith opened up about the night, saying it was “a horrific night as you can imagine. You know, there’s many nuances and, and complexities to it. At the end of the day, I just lost it.” Smith said he had “bottled up rage” that night, which played an important role in influencing him to “lose it” and slap Chris Rock. In July, Smith released a video publicly apologizing to Rock and his family, as well as the audience at the Academy Awards. Smith said he regretted his decision in taking his anger out on Rock, and reflected about a time where his “9-year-old nephew questioned him about slapping Chris Rock”, which broke his heart.