Zoë Kravitz Says She’d Do Over Criticism Of Will Smith’s Oscars Slap
Zoë Kravitz is reflecting on how she reacted to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards in March.
Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, the actress said she wishes that the social media post she made a few days after the shocking incident happened was more nuanced.
Via Instagram at the time, Kravitz shared a photo of herself from the Oscars red carpet and wrote, “Here’s a picture of my dress at the show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now.” She also responded “nope” when a commenter asked if she supported Smith’s actions.
“I’m torn about what to say right now, because I’m supposed to just talk about it; I have very complicated feelings around it,” Kravitz told the newspaper about her initial comments on the Oscars slap. “I wish I had handled that differently. And that’s okay.”
She continued, “It’s a scary time to have an opinion or to say the wrong thing or to make controversial art or statements or thoughts or anything. It’s mostly scary because art is about conversation. That should, in my opinion, always be the point. The internet is the opposite of conversation. The internet is people putting things out and not taking anything in.”
Kravitz also added, “I was reminded that I’m an artist. Being an artist is not about everybody loving you or everyone thinking you’re hot. It’s about expressing something that will hopefully spark a conversation or inspire people or make them feel seen. I think I’m in a place right now where I don’t want to express myself through a caption or a tweet. I want to express myself through art.”
During the Oscars, Chris Rock joked about Jada Pinkett Smith just before presenting the award for the documentary feature category. In reaction, Smith walked on stage and slapped Rock. Smith later won the Oscar for best actor for his portrayal of Venus and Serena Williams’ father Richard Williams in King Richard.
Last month, Will Smith apologized to Rock and his family in a five-minute social media video.
