Serena And Venus Williams’ Dad, Opens Up About Will Smith Oscar Slap
Richard Williams, father to tennis superstars Serena and Venus Williams, is opening up about Will Smith’s Oscar saying that he doesn’t resent the actor.
In a conversation with The U.S. Sun, Richard shared that while his family doesn’t condone violence, he does not judge Smith for his actions and is still celebrating the actor's Oscar win for “Best Actor” and his portrayal of him in King Richard.
"I think that whatever he [Will] wants to do, that's what he should do," Richard said. "People are going to think what they want to think.”
Adding, "If he apologized [that's good]; however, he wants to deal with the situation. I wouldn't judge anyone."
He continued, “They should let him keep his Oscar, too. When a person [has] worked for [it] so much, then leave it alone.”
"I really appreciate him doing so very much, so I could never criticize him.” Richard also noted that he considered the 10-year ban from the Academy to be too harsh.
Richard didn’t attend the Oscars award ceremony but was shown a clip of the incident the next day by his son Chavoita LeSane.
In Mar. 2022, Smith walked on stage at the Oscars and slapped Chris Rock in the face as he presented an award after he made a joke about Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. Before he got onstage to hit Rock, Smith shouted from his front-row seat: "Keep my wife's name out your f---ing mouth!"
This is the second time Richard Williams has responded to the Will Smith Oscar slap; he first released a statement through LeShane immediately following the incident, which read: “We don’t know all the details of what happened. But we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense.”
