Will Smith is “deeply remorseful” about slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March.
Smith posted a video to his verified Instagram account on Friday that began with the words on screen, “It’s been a minute.”
“Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work…,” the statement reads. “You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer.”
Smith can then be heard sighing, he enters the screen and addresses to camera why he didn’t apologize to Rock during his Oscars acceptance speech following his win for best actor for his role in “King Richard.”
“I was fogged out by that point,” Smith says. “It’s all fuzzy. 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. So I will say to you Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you are ready to talk.”
Smith also apologizes to Rock’s mother, family and his brother, Tony Rock, who had starred in the 2007 sitcom “All of Us,” which was created by Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
“We had a great relationship,” Smith says. “Tony Rock was my man and this is probably irreparable.”
Smith walked on stage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock, who was presenting at the time, after he made a joke about Smith’s wife’s shaved head.