Washington: Amid the controversies following the incident where Will Smith slapped presenter- comedian Chris Rock at Oscars 2022, legendary tennis coach Richard Williams stated that he does not believe in violence unless ‘it’s in self-defence’.
Richard, the father of tennis stars Venus Williams and Serena Williams, spoke to NBC News via his son Chavoita LeSane and weighed in on Smith’s controversial actions at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, a report by Variety said. ‘We don’t know all the details of what happened. But we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense’, he noted.
The incident took place during the third hour of the telecast, Rock took the stage to present the award for best documentary, and cracked a joke about Pinkett-Smith as being in ‘GI Jane 2’, apparently a reference to her shaved head. In a moment that triggered awkward silence and confusion in the Dolby Theatre, Smith strode up to Rock and slapped him, before returning to his seat alongside Jada and shouting profanities.
Also read: Will Smith apologises for smacking presenter Chris Rock during Oscars 2022
Smith then yelled ‘Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth’ twice, forcing the producers to bleep out several seconds of audio from the televised broadcast in the United States. Jada Pinkett Smith, who is also an actress, suffers from alopecia, and publicly revealed her diagnosis in 2018. A few minutes after the incident, Smith was announced Best Actor at the Oscars for his portrayal of Richard Williams, the determined father who raised tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, in the movie ‘King Richard’.
Post Your Comments