“Over the last few months, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and personal work…” the statement reads. “You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer.” Smith is then heard sighing, coming on screen and addressing the camera for not apologizing to Rock during his Oscar acceptance speech after his best actor win for his role in “King Richard.” “I was clouded by that point,” Smith says. “It’s all a blur. I’ve been in touch with Chris and the message he got back is that he’s not ready to talk and when he is, he’ll reach out. So I’ll say to you Chris, I’m sorry. My behavior was unacceptable and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.” CNN has reached out to Rock’s representatives for comment. Smith is also apologizing to Rock’s mother, family and his brother, Tony Rock, who starred in the 2007 sitcom All of Us, which was created by Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. “We had a great relationship,” says Smith. “Tony Rock was my man and that’s probably irreparable.” Smith took the stage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock, who was hosting at the time, after he made a joke about Smith’s wife’s shaved head. Pinkett Smith suffers from alopecia areata, an autoimmune condition that can lead to hair loss. In his video, Smith also responds to the question of whether his wife, after rolling her eyes at Rock’s joke, asked him to do something at the time saying he didn’t. He also apologizes to her, their children and his Oscar nominees in the post. Smith says he has “spent the last three months replaying and understanding the nuance and complexity of what happened at that moment.” “I’m not going to try to unpack all of that now, but I can tell you all, there’s no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave at that time,” he says. “There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or offense.” Smith adds that it hurts him to know that he didn’t live up to the image people had of him. “Letting people down is my central trauma,” she says. I hate when I let people down and it hurts.” Smith sends a message to his supporters, saying he is committed to “putting light, love and joy into the world.” “If you keep going, I promise we can be friends again,” he concludes. The Academy has sanctioned Smith by barring him from attending the Oscars for the next 10 years.
