‘Bottled’ rage from childhood led to Oscars slap incident — Will Smith
American actor, Will Smith has revealed that a “bottled” childhood rage led him to slap comedian Chris Rock on stage at the Oscars award.
Recall that Smith stormed the stage at the Hollywood award ceremony after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada’s shaved head.
Jada had a hair loss condition known as alopecia.
The interview on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah on Monday was the first time Smith had been publicly challenged about the attack.
According to the actor, he described the night as “a horrific night.”
He said: “I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behaviour at all.”
Smith added that there were many nuances and complexities to it, saying, “I just – I lost it.
“I understand how shocking that was for people.
“I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time.”
Discussing the background of his Oscars assault, he opened up about growing up in an abusive home.
He said, “It was a lot of things. It was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother, you know? All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That’s not who I want to be.
“I guess what I would say is that you just never know what somebody’s going through,”
He continued: “In the audience right now, you’re sitting next to strangers, and somebody’s mother died last week. You know? Somebody’s child is sick. Somebody just lost their job. Somebody just found out their spouse cheated.
“There’s all these things, and you just don’t know what’s going on with people. And I was going through something that night.
“(I) had to forgive myself for being human.
“Trust me, there’s nobody that hates the fact that I’m human more than me… I’ve always wanted to be Superman. I’ve always wanted to swoop in and save the damsel in distress.
“And I had to humble down and realise that I’m a flawed human, and I still have an opportunity to go out in the world and contribute in a way that fills my heart and hopefully helps other people.”
