Actor said Chris Rock is "not ready" to speak with him
The biggest entertainment story of the year has taken another turn, with Will Smith finally ending a months-long public absence to issue an apology for his actions on Oscar night.
Smith posted a video to his YouTube channel titled "It's been a minute..." where he answered frequently asked questions about the incident.
Discussing the incident, Smith said the actual moment itself was "all fuzzy" and said "I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out.”
"I will say to you, Chris, I apologise to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk."
"I spent the last three months replaying an understanding the nuance and complexity of what happened in that moment. I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. No part of me that thinks that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insult.”
"There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults," he added.
Smith also apologised to Oscar winner Questlove, who had his moment of Oscar glory overshadowed by the incident, as well as his fellow acting nominees on the night.
"It really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment. I can still see Questlove’s eyes. You know, it happened on Questlove’s award. And, you know, it’s like, I’m sorry really isn’t sufficient.”
Smith took home the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his performance in 'King Richard', which led to him delivering a strange acceptance speech on the night, which pointedly did not include an apology to Rock on the night.
The star refuted allegations that Jada Pinkett Smith urged him to walk on stage and slap Chris Rock after he made a joke about her medical condition.
“It’s like, you know, I made a choice on my own, from my own experiences, from my history with Chris,” Smith says. “Jada had nothing to do with it. I’m sorry, babe. I wanna say sorry to my kids and my family for the heat that I brought on all of us.”
Smith also apologised to his fans for the incident, saying "disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down. It hurts me psychologically to know I didn't live up to people's image of me."
The full video can be seen below.