Serena Williams: Will Smith should be forgiven for Oscar slap

02 February,2023 08:21 PM IST |  Washington  |  IANS

Smith was banned from the Oscars for ten years as a result of slapping Rock but the 23-time Grand Slam winner thinks that he deserves the opportunity to redeem himself

Serena Williams and Will Smith. Pic/Instagram


Tennis legend Serena Williams believes that Hollywood star Will Smith should be forgiven for the "mistake" of slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars last year.

The 41-year-old tennis legend has discussed the infamous moment when the 'King Richard' star hit the comedian Chris Rock after he joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith at the Academy Awards last year and is adamant that the actor should be given the chance to atone for his "mistake", reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Serena, whose rise to the top of the sporting world was documented in the film, regrets how the slap overshadowed Will's Oscar triumph and that of 'Summer of Soul' - which won the Best Documentary Feature award directly after the shocking incident.

She told CBS Mornings: "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.

Also Read: Will Smith reveals Floyd Mayweather checked on him 10 days straight after Oscar slap incident

"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.'"

Smith was banned from the Oscars for ten years as a result of the slap but the 23-time Grand Slam winner thinks that he deserves the opportunity to redeem himself.

Serena, who announced that she was "evolving away" from tennis last year, said: "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."

The sporting icon's father Richard Williams has also hit out at the Academy for banning Will from the Oscars and other gala events for a decade and believes that the punishment is very harsh.

He said: "Just two days, that's enough, that's very much."

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
will smith Chris Rock Oscars 2021 serena williams tennis news hollywood news Entertainment News
Related Stories