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How Sincere Is Will Smith’s Video Apology?
Heartfelt atonement or slick Hollywood performance: Will Smith's apology comes with questions-- and an inevitable conclusion.
Four months after slapping Chris Rock in front of millions of people, Will Smith has posted an emotional video apology asking for forgiveness and understanding. Undoubtedly, the question in many people’s minds is whether the apology is a sincere expression of remorse or a desperate attempt to salvage an imploding career.
Following the Oscars, I wrote a pretty aggressive article (“Will Smith Did a Bad, Bad Thing”) condemning Smith’s actions, not just for the initial act of violence, but for the implication that his wife was incapable of speaking for herself as well as for the perpetuation of harmful Black stereotypes. I said all this despite the fact that I know Will Smith, have worked with him, have been to his house, and have found him to be a generous and gracious person.
I said all that because sometimes our actions are bigger than our celebrity. Even bigger than personal and professional relationships. When they negatively affect the broader community—especially one already under pressure—then those actions demand to be scrutinized so they don’t happen again. And so the community can heal.
Heal? It’s not like we were the ones getting slapped. Our faces aren’t burning, our jaws aren’t sore, our teeth aren’t loose. We aren’t the one embarrassed in front of millions.
Yet, some celebrities project such a charming and compassionate presence that their fans look up to them with adoration and adulation. They become role models for impressionable youth. Will Smith is that rare celebrity that men want to hang out with and women want to fantasize about. So, when such a celebrity does something that shatters the image people have, it’s hurtful to them. This is especially true for people of color whose cultural heroes reflect on all people of color. The popularity of a Beyonce or Will Smith or Dwayne Johnson makes all people of color feel a little more comfortable in our skins. That’s why the impact of Smith’s fall from grace is like an asteroid slamming into the Black community. It’s not fair to him to bear that burden, but it’s a fact nevertheless.
Smith is an enormously talented actor. That may lead some to suggest he’s merely acting contrite and remorseful in the video. Skeptics will also point out that taking four months to respond feels like commerce more than conscience. Within a few days after the Oscars, Smith’s popularity dropped 30 points and several film projects starring Smith were shelved or postponed. Is this video just an opening act for his redemption tour culminating in more movie deals?
I don’t think so. I’m not going to critique his format or his delivery or even his timing. I’m going to look at his words and accept that they are sincere and honest. I’m going to believe that after a lengthy period of soul-searching, family rebuilding, and moral prioritizing, he was ready to face a shocked and disapproving world—one that may no longer be rooting for him.
I, however, am rooting for him.
One of my favorite lines of poetry comes from Richard Wilbur’s “The Pardon”: “I dreamt the past was never past redeeming.” We all live under the desperate hope that our past mistakes can be forgiven. Smith’s slap had consequences on many people around the world, but none that require perpetual punishment and endless finger-wagging. We all have shortcomings, celebrity merely amplifies them to the world. Every misstep is an opportunity for growth and it appears that Smith is embracing that opportunity. We should do our part and support him. It’s what we would hope for ourselves from others.
How Sincere Is Will Smith’s Video Apology?
I particularly admire this posting. Without rancor, you reiterate and do not excuse the behavior and its wide reaching implications. Then you also forgive and do so eloquently and generously. I realised that as a woman and a member of the film community, I still carry resentment about Will Smith's action but your own generosity reminds me that we all, in moments of weakness, (though not on the world stage, for most) make very real mistakes. You have demonstrated a larger, spiritual and kind outlook. The world needs much, much more of your grace and intelligence. It will be such a better place when we all do as Kareem does.
The slap got under my skin more than I wanted it to. In the circumstances of my life, I took it too personal. Please forgive the personal story. I'm the first black writer in Washington State to have a poetry bestseller, and this is not a brag. You know more than most anybody that being the first black anything is unbelievably stressful and comes with a fraught amount of racial weight, even with something as small as local poetry. More than that, you know it comes with understanding that if you are the first of anything as a black person, you know there were gifted black artists who didn't get their flowers, and did what they did for you to be there; and the thing you have to do is make public moves to make it easier for black artists coming after you. You have the right idea in rooting for him and in the words you say here, and I hope that in his actions he can make it easier for black actors who will come after him. Again, please forgive me for the personal revelation, I am not lying to you and am not doing this for a brand. More than that, I've moved to a different profession because being the first black writer in a state to do something was so stressful.