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 moment when Will slapped presenter Chris over a joke he made about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith in March 2022.
Will was awarded Best Actor for his role in the film King Richard shortly after the incident. Directly after Will slapped Chris, Questlove won 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," Serena commented of the awards. "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.'"
She 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, Chris made a joke comparing Will's wife Jada to the bald character GI Jane, referencing Jada's own hairstyle - a direct result of her alopecia. Will responded by walking onstage and hitting the comedian.
The King Richard star later apologised, saying in an Instagram video, "My behaviour was unacceptable."
Source: © Cover Media