Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard defended Will Smith over the infamous Oscars slap in a new interview.
Smith faced backlash after slapping Chris Rock on stage during the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. The slap occurred after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
On Monday, Richard, who Smith won an Oscar for portraying in the 2021 biopic “King Richard” on the night of the incident, told the UK TV show “Good Morning Britain” that he didn’t see “anything wrong” with the slap.
“I’ll always stand by him,” Richard said. “I think he has done the best thing he needed to do, but I would never be disgusted with Mr. Smith. Matter of fact, I appreciate Mr. Smith.”
The retired tennis coach went on to say that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 10-year ban on Smith attending their events should be lifted.
“It should be just one day or no more than a week at the most,” Richard added.
Richard also said he “didn’t feel sorry” for Rock and appeared to justify Smith’s actions because of the comedian’s joke about Smith’s wife, who has alopecia.
“I’m 81 years old but when I was about 51 years or younger, I almost killed any damn one, so I think Mr. Smith done a great deal now,” Richard said. “It’s time for everyone to forgive Will Smith.”
Credit: yahoo.com
