Serena Williams Explains Why Will Smith Oscars Slap Is “Not The End Of The World”

Serena Williams has called for Will Smith to be forgiven after slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.

During an appearance on CBS Mornings, the tennis star discussed the 2022 Oscars moment in which Best Actor winner Will Smith slapped presenter Chris Rock.

Will was awarded Best Actor for his role in the film King Richard. Directly after he slapped Rock, presenter Questlove gave out the Best Documentary award for Summer of Soul.

“I thought it was such an incredible film and I feel that there was an incredible film after that with Questlove that kind of was overshadowed,” Williams commented of the awards, via Hollywood Life. “But I also feel that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been under a lot of pressure and made a tremendous amount of mistakes, and I’m the kind of person that’s just like, ‘I’ve been there. I’ve made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world.’”

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Williams continued, “We’re all imperfect and we’re all human and let’s just be kind to each other. So, that’s often forgotten a lot.”

During the Academy Awards live telecast, Rock made a joke comparing Will’s wife Jada Pinkett to the bald character GI Jane, referencing Pinkett’s own hairstyle, a direct result of her alopecia. Will responded by walking onstage and hitting the comedian.

The King Richard star later apologized, saying in an Instagram video, “My behavior was unacceptable.”