Will Smith apologizes on Instagram:

[demmiblue]

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Jedi Guy]

1. Translation:

"Dear Academy,

My publicist told me I have to do this. Also, I want to win more awards in the future. Please accept this new performance... er, I mean, this apology, and don't hold last night against me.

Thanks,

Will"

[Beakybird]

3. Apt translation 👌

[JoanofArgh]

6. Lol, perfect.

[pandr32]

11. Yup

[SmittyWerben]

14. There also seems to be a bit of "look what you made me do" in this apology.

[The Grand Illuminist]

24. Also....

This means that AMPAS is a hair's breath away from stripping him of his Oscar, and he knows it.

[ripcord]

2. Chris Rock also apologized

[IcyPeas]

7. I like Chris' apology.

[Cha]

8. I said last night.. I bet he

wishes he had never said that.

Thank you for this, ripcord. Definitely a Real Apology.

💙💛

[Sunsky]

23. Class vs ...

I have a newfound respect for Chris Rock. Will Smith is one of my faves and I'm deeply disappointed in his inexcusable action and the weak-ass apology he gave at the event but to err is human. I won't dismiss him based on one act. We can all learn from the moment.

[Cha]

25. Aloha, ripcord.. could you tell

me the source of Chris Rock's Statement.. I can't find it on Instagram or FB.

Mahalo!
💙💛

[JoanofArgh]

4. Well, I mean, it's a nice apology. Don't know if it was written by him or a publicist but

he needed to do it. Chris Rock should now apologize to Jada and everybody can move on.

[Cha]

9. He has.. it's in this post above..

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16537848

💙💛

[JoanofArgh]

10. Thanks, Cha! I noticed after I posted.

[Cha]

15. You're Welcome, Joan!

💙💛

[a kennedy]

5. I hope he wrote it, I cried reading it........thought it was very heartfelt......

am so happy he did it.

[tishaLA]

12. Yeah the dancing, the self-justifying speech, and his son

tweeting this make me doubt his sincerity

Link to tweet

[Cha]

16. Chris was so wrong to say what he said.. but

his apology was real, I think, and I choked up a bit.

https://democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=16537848

💙💛

[tishaLA]

18. I agree and I'm almost positive he wrote it himself

[Cha]

20. I was thinking that, too. An apology

from the heart💕 very humble and sincere.

💙💛

[BlackSkimmer]

26. Same here.

That sniveling speech when he accepted his reward just made me even more sickened than I was after the slap.

[Doc Sportello]

13. Wonder how the conspiracy theorists will spin this

Several on here said it was staged and wouldn't listen to any contrary evidence. Oops.

[frazzled]

19. Meh

This is my last word on this issue (hopefully), but I feel compelled to explain my contrarian view on this subject and to open up the discussion to what I see as the larger issue ... the very anti-feminist, toxic masculinity that was at the heart not just of the incident but of the film for which Smith (perhaps deservedly)won the Oscar.

Let’s start at the beginning. When I watched King Richard some months ago I truly enjoyed it. It was well made and well acted, and quite entertaining. All good. But in the back of my mind I was a little disturbed about the portrayal of Richard Williams, a figure who had been seen as quite controversial back in the day. What Smith saw as his “fierce protection of his family” might, through a different lens, also be seen as verging on a kind of abusivess based on control. And this was Smith’s vision—he wasn’t just an actor here, this project was his personal baby. But no one was talking about it, so I figured it was just me.

Though Amy Schumer must have been thinking about it, because in the opening segment last night she made this comment:

“After years of Hollywood ignoring women, we finally got a movie about the incredible Williams sisters’ … dad.”

Snap. And I bet that was the beginning of Smith’s anger that night. He was about to be crowned King Will, and that (very accurate) barb was the first wound.

So then let’s look at the other bookend of the evening—the acceptance speech. This shocked me more than anything. To recap, Smith tried to justify his behavior by saying that God himself (herself?) had led him to see his mission as protector of women. Oh really ??!! If this isn’t some twisted version of the White Savior theme (transferred to a Black actor), I don’t know what else to call it. And he’s still using that defense in this apology tweet.

In other words, to me, it’s not the incident that matters. It’s the entitled male vision of his God-appointed role to protect poor defenseless little women ... from what, weak humorous comments? ... that is absolutely galling. This is a women’s issue about macho male attitudes of self-importance, and I would hope that some would see this. The alligator tears last night didn’t convince me ... he’s an actor after all, a very good actor in fact. But he sorely miscalculated and needs some straightening out.

[BlackSkimmer]

27. Good point.

Good post. And spot on.

[FakeNoose]

21. Well okay ... public apologies accepted by both parties

These guys used to be good friends, am I right?

I sincerely hope that one of them picked up the phone and called the other one. A sincere apology needs to be given in person, or if nothing else at least in-person-over-the-phone. These Twitter "apologies" aren't the same thing.

Just sayin'

[MOMFUDSKI]

22. This whole episode could be nothing more than

a pre-planned publicity stunt. Look at all the press these 2 have gotten. Actors gonna act . . . .