Serena Williams has broken her silence and defended the shocking incident in which Will Smith hit Chris Rock at the Oscars nearly a year ago.
Speaking to Gayle King on CBS Mornings, the tennis star said that everyone deserves to be forgiven after the actress jumped on stage and stunned audiences around the world with her actions.
Serena, 41, said that at times she has made her own mistakes and reminded viewers that ‘we are all imperfect and we are all human’.
‘Then King Richard had that moment at the Oscars, how did you feel about that?’ Gayle asked the sportsman.
“I thought it was an amazing movie, and I feel like there was an amazing movie after that with Questlove that was overshadowed,” Serena said.
Serena Williams (pictured) has broken her silence on what she really thinks about Will Smith and Chris Rock’s Oscars win. The tennis legend, who has taken almost a year to reveal what he really thinks, said that ‘we are all imperfect and we are all human’.
The tennis legend (left) and Will Smith (right) are pictured in Los Angeles in March 2022. Smith’s film, King Richard, which he watched and later won an Oscar, told the story of Serena and Venus Williams and their father’s advice. , Richard Williams
“But I also feel that I’ve been in a situation where I’ve been under a lot of pressure and I’ve made a lot of mistakes.
“I’m the guy who’s like, ‘I’ve been there, I’ve made mistakes.’ It’s not the end of the world.”
He finished: ‘So, that is often very much forgotten.’
King Richard is a film that tells the story of Serena and Venus Williams and the advice of their father, Richard Williams.
Will portrays Richard in the film. But the awards night was overshadowed after him beat Chris Rock at the Oscars last March, making international headlines.
Chris who was leading the show joked that Will’s wife, Jada looks like ‘GI Jane’ due to her baldness. He had recently revealed that he suffers from alopecia.
Shocking the world of Showbiz! Will Smith beat Chris Rock at the Oscars last March
He went on to win Best Actor for his role in King Richard that night, but he didn’t apologize to Chris.
Will stormed the stage and hit Rock after getting angry: ‘Get my wife’s name out of your mouth.’
He went on to win Best Actor for his role in King Richard that night, but he didn’t apologize to Chris.
Following the incident, Will appeared at the party that night with his family at the Vanity Fair Oscars, performing his song Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It as the crowd cheered him on.
Will has since been banned from the Oscars for 10 years for slapping comedian Chris, but will be allowed to keep his Best Actor award.
However, a few days later he apologized in an official statement saying his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.
“Violence in all its forms is poisonous and destructive,” he wrote.
However, a few days later he apologized in an official statement saying his behavior was ‘unacceptable and inexcusable’ and left him ’embarrassed’.
‘My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but the joke about Jada’s medical condition was too heavy for me and I reacted emotionally.
‘I’d like to apologize publicly, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am ashamed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.’
Last November, Will spoke to Trevor Noah about the incident and said there was ‘fury’ inside him that night at the Oscars.
He also added that when he got home after the party, his nine-year-old nephew was waiting and saw the slap, and asked him, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?’
Struggle: In December 2021, she shared her struggle with alopecia and encouraged her Instagram followers to ask questions.
Will then took out his tissues and looked at Noah, joking, ‘Dude. Why are you trying to Oprah me?’
He added, ‘It was a mess, you know. I don’t want to go too far into it to give people more misunderstandings.’
After talking about his new film, Noah joked that they hadn’t seen each other in a while, as Will opened up about what he said was a ‘scary night, as you can imagine.’
‘There are many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day, I lost it, you know?’ Love agreed.
‘I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behavior at all…’ he admitted.
‘It was a lot of things. It was a little boy who saw his father beat his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up at that time. It’s not what I want to be,’ he said.
‘I was gone. That was an anger that had been held for a very long time,’ Will said.
Emotional: Last November, Will spoke to Trevor Noah about the incident and said there was ‘fury’ inside him that night at the Oscars.
