Serena Williams Breaks Silence On Will Smith’s Oscars Slap

Serena Williams has spoken out publicly for the primary time about actor Will Smith slapping comic Chris Rock onstage on the Oscars final 12 months.

Smith portrayed the tennis legend’s father within the biopic “King Richard,” which Williams executive-produced together with her sisters.

Throughout an interview on “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday, host Gayle King referred to the incident, noting that “‘King Richard’ had that moment at the Oscars.”

“What did you feel about that?” she requested Williams.

“I thought it was such an incredible film, and I feel that there was an incredible film after that with Questlove that kinda was overshadowed,” the 23-time Grand Slam winner responded, referring to “Summer of Soul,” the Oscar-winning documentary that was being awarded when the altercation broke out.

“But, I also feel that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been under a lot of pressure and I’ve made a tremendous amount of mistakes,” she added. “And I’m the kind of person that’s like ― ‘I’ve been there. I’ve made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world.’”

“We’re all imperfect and we’re all human, and let’s just be kind to each other,” she added, telling viewers that that form of sentiment was “often forgotten.”

On the 2022 awards present, Rock joked onstage in regards to the look of Smith’s spouse, Jada Pinkett Smith, who has been open about having alopecia, a situation that causes hair loss.

Upon listening to the joke, Smith shouted angrily at Rock earlier than strolling up onstage to slap him.

4 months later, the “Bad Boys” actor launched an almost six-minute video on his YouTube channel to deal with the altercation. He mentioned he was “deeply remorseful” for his actions and known as his conduct “unacceptable.”

Smith is banned from attending the Oscars, or any Academy Award-related occasion or program, for 10 years.