Will Smith is finally back in the world and discussing the incident that derailed his career on what should have been one of the biggest nights of it. Will Smith finally took home the Oscar for Best Actor in the Serena and Venus Williams biopic King Richard, but it was severely overshadowed by his running up on stage and slapping Chris Rock following comments made about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
Ppl were hurt, because we love you and we love what you do. I think I speak for people when I say I don’t want that to define you. I hope you don’t stay hidden forever. I hope you know that you not being perfect is what’ll make you perfect. You’re Will Smith, man!
— Joel Khamadi (@Joel_Khamadi) November 29, 2022
~ Trevor Noah. pic.twitter.com/PA5SWxrMdZ
Will is out promoting his new film Emancipation, and he stopped by the Daily Show with Trevor Noah. While there, Smith let the world in on that night at the Oscars and how he was “going through something” that had him in a bad place well before Chris Rock’s joke sent him over the edge. Will started to talk about how “horrific” it was before asking the audience to imagine what unspoken things the strangers next to them might be facing without their knowledge.
Will Smith explains how people have to be way nicer because you never know what someone is experiencing. On the night of the Oscars, he was dealing with something and admitted it manifested in him running up on stage and attacking Chris Rock. Trevor Noah, who is friends with Smith, sympathized with his friend, who had historically always lived on the right side of public opinion.
Noah wondered if that evening was an amalgamation of years of Will being the “good guy” and not speaking out or addressing the constant attacks on him and his family. Despite being America’s sweetheart since his days as the Fresh Prince, marriage and fatherhood have cast him in a different light, and we’ve learned just how “progressive” his wife and kids have been. This includes his and Jada’s open marriage and both Willow and Jaden experimenting with their genders and dating.
A tearful Will talked about watching his mother being abused by his father as a child, something he also addressed in his book. From there on out, Will says he always tried to be a peacemaker and avoid conflict. Trevor believes the Oscar night was a case of Will “finally standing up for the wrong thing.” “Hurt people hurt people,” said Will.
