It’s been three years since Will Smith infamously slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars, but that’s a scene that’s far from forgotten for those who were involved and for those who witnessed the moment. Even as Smith moves on with plenty of movies in the works, he released an album, Based on a True Story, that makes several nods to the scandal. The actor got candid about what these post-slap years have been like as he worked on himself.
Will Smith sat down with the Drink Champs podcast, where he really opened up about having to confront a part of himself that he hadn’t acknowledged or wanted to show people before. While fans knew him for light-hearted roles on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Men in Black, Smith has realized that public persona was a mask that he wore, and he’s taken time to look at what that means. In his words:
In the last couple of years, I’ve really just shut it down. After the Oscars, I just shut it down. I did a real deep dive. I looked at myself as honestly as I could. And I looked at all of the parts of myself that I always thought of as not for public consumption, right? So there was a Will Smith, and there was an image and there was an identity of Will Smith, but that was only my good qualities. It was only the best of me. … The Will Smith to the public was only the best of me. Will Smith wasn’t allowed to be upset.
On March 27, 2022, though, Will Smith was very upset. While presenting the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head (the actress has alopecia), prompting Smith to walk up on stage and slap the comedian on live television.
That certainly wasn’t representative of the person Will Smith usually allowed the public to see, and to that point, he said:
You never saw me not smiling, right? But you could probably imagine there was some times where I wouldn’t be smiling. It’s just that wasn’t for public consumption. So it was just the best qualities of me. So then I was forced into a situation where I had to be honest that I don’t just have good qualities. I have some things that I have pushed down. I have fear, I have confusion, I have anger, I have sadness.
Will Smith has said that the most painful part of dealing with the slap aftermath was coming to terms with the fact that he responded to hate with more hate. He’s realized since then that everybody’s going through pain, and he told N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN that there’s power to be found in confronting that pain within yourself. Smith said:
So for me, about this time, this phase of my career, really this phase of my life — as I looked into myself in that way and I really confronted those parts of myself, my humanity — not just the straight Superman winning all of the time… when I started confronting those other parts of myself, something really magical happened. … There’s no bad qualities in you. There are things that are neglected that will be a superpower if you befriend your anger, if you befriend your sadness. Not try to get rid of it. Befriend the fact that you’re scared.
Will Smith went on to say he’s found poetry, power, patience, certainty and many other positive qualities since learning to accept the entirety of his humanity.
Chris Rock, meanwhile, has been dealing with it in his own way, including through his comedy. He addressed the Oscars slap on his comedy special Selective Outrage (available to stream with a Netflix subscription), where he had a lot to say about Will and Jada Pinkett Smith.
Ultimately, though, Chris Rock said he lives in forgiveness, and interestingly he didn’t shut down the possibility of hosting the Oscars again someday. However, he agreed with the general consensus that Conan O’Brien deserves to do it again after he crushed this year’s ceremony.
Even three years later, there’s no question that “the slap” remains as relevant as ever, and it seems Will Smith has really learned a lot about himself in that time.