It was supposed to be a career-defining moment in the sun for Will Smith, winning his first Academy Award for playing the title role in King Richard. Then Chris Rock made an off-hand joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s lack of hair.
“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” Smith began, implicitly addressing the incident, explaining that he was “overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world.”
Throughout the long and emotional speech, Smith tried to rehab an instantly damaged reputation, attempting to turn the unfortunate situation into a positive.
“I know to do what we do, you’ve got to be able to take abuse,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you’ve got to be able to have people disrespecting you and you’ve got to smile and you’ve got to pretend like that’s OK.”
After his fellow nominee Denzel Washington said “I love you” from the crowd, Smith revealed that the actor told him during the commercial break, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.” Reporters inside the room relayed that Smith’s publicist and Oscars producer Will Packer also visited Smith’s table during the breaks.
“I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” Smith said, notably leaving Chris Rock off that list. Through tears, he added, “This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.”
After thanking everyone involved in the film and joking that “art imitates life,” turning him into the “crazy father” just like Richard Williams, Smith closed with a series of thank yous.
“Thank you for this honor, thank you for this moment,” he said. “And thank you on behalf of Richard and the entire Williams family. Thank you. I hope the Academy invites me back.”
