Serena Williams has broken her silence and defended the shocking moment Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars almost a year ago.
Speaking to Gayle King, 68, on CBS Mornings, the tennis star said everyone deserves forgiveness.
Serena said that sometimes she 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, what do you think of that?” Gayle asked the esports canon.
“I thought it would be such an incredible movie and I feel like there was an incredible movie after that with Questlove that got overshadowed,” Serena said.
‘We’re All Imperfect and We’re All Human’: Serena Williams has revealed what she really thinks about THIS Oscar smack from Will Smith and Chris Rock
“But I also feel like I was in a position where I was under a lot of pressure and made a lot of mistakes.
“I’m the person who says, ‘I was there, I 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 nice to each other.”
She finished, “Well, that’s often forgotten a lot.”
King Richard is the film that tells the story of Serena and Venus Williams and the mentorship of their father Richard Williams.
Will portrays Richard in the film.
Will beat Chris Rock at the Oscars last March, making international headlines.
Chris, who hosted the show, joked that Will’s wife Jada looked like “GI Jane” because she was bald.
She had recently revealed that she suffers from alopecia.
Shocking the world of showbiz! Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars in March last year
Will stormed the stage and in anger slapped Rock: “Keep my wife’s name out of your friggin’ mouth.”
He won Best Actor that night for his role in King Richard, but didn’t specifically apologize to Chris.
After the incident, Will was seen partying all night with his family at the Vanity Fair Oscars Bash, dancing to his own song Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It as the crowd cheered him on.
Will has since been banned from the Oscars for 10 years for beating comedian Chris, but is 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 the Oscars last night was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s health was too much for me and I reacted emotionally.
“I want to apologize to you publicly, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I’m embarrassed and my actions were no indication of the man I want to be. In a world of love and kindness there is no place for violence.’
In November last year, Will spoke to Trevor Noah about the incident and said he felt “anger” that night at the Oscars.
He added that when he got home after the ceremony, his nine-year-old nephew, who had seen the slap and asked him, was waiting: “Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?”
Struggles: In December 2021, she shared how she’s been struggling with alopecia and encouraged her Instagram followers to ask questions
Then Will pulled out his handkerchief and looked at Noah, joking, “Damn. Why are you trying Oprah?’
He added: “It was a mess, you know. I don’t want to go into too much detail to give people more misunderstandings.’
After discussing his new film, Noah joked they hadn’t seen it in a while, as Will started to open up about what he said was “a horrible night, as you can imagine”.
“There are many nuances and complexities. But at the end of the day, I just… I lost it, you know? Will be admitted.
“I went through something that night, you know? Not that that would justify my behavior at all…” he admitted.
“It was a lot of things. It was the little boy who watched his father beat up his mother, you know? It all just bubbled up at that moment. That’s not who I want to be,” he said.
‘I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled up for a really long time,” Will said.
Emotional: In November last year, Will spoke to Trevor Noah about the incident and said there was ‘anger’ in him that night at the Oscars