Willow Smith Breaks Silence on Will Smith's Oscars Slap
Celebrity

Willow Smith Breaks Silence on Will Smith's Oscars Slap

Willow Smith is opening up about her reaction to the slap heard around the world.

In the off chance you forgot, the "emo girl" singer's parents stirred up substantial controversy at the 2022 Oscars after emcee Chris Rock made a joke related to Jada Pinkett-Smith's alopecia, causing husband Will Smith to hop onstage and smack the comedian across the face. What followed was widespread criticism of the actor's physical response from both the public and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, not to mention plenty of questions about the Smith kids and their thoughts on the situation — and it seems as if Willow is now ready to answer.

Ahead of this fall's release of coping mechanism, the 21-year-old sat down with Billboardto talk about the forthcoming record, her decision to work in the pop punk space and her reaction to the slap, which she stated "didn't rock me as much as my own internal demons."

"I see my whole family as being human and I love and accept them for all their humanness," Willow explained, before adding that because of their fame, public visibility and other facets related to "the position that we're in," their "humanness sometimes isn't accepted."

She continued, "And we're expected to act in a way that isn't conducive to a healthy human life and isn't conducive to being honest."

Prior to this though, the Red Table Talk co-host appeared to address the slap following Will's resignation from the Academy, tweeting that "the meaning of life is found in challenge" and that "life is a series of reactions."

This all followed the King Richard actor's own public apology to Rock, in which he called his actions "unacceptable and inexcusable," as well as "not indicative of the man I want to be." Not only that, but Will also took to social media again with a second apology at the end of July, where he informed fans that he was willing to talk to the comic whenever he was ready. As for Jada, she seemingly addressed the slap shortly after it happened in a vague Instagram post that simply read, "This is a season for healing and I’m here for it."

Photo via Getty / Axelle / Bauer-Griffin / FilmMagic

Fashion

Coolest Person in the Room: Jacques Agbobly

Story by Andrew Nguyen / Photography by Diego Villagra Motta