On today’s episode of “The Slap,” Willow Smith has commented on her father’s Oscar-night actions and how it affects her and the family. Look, I know what you’re thinking, but this is our lives now. We will never be done talking about this.
While discussing her upcoming album, coping mechanism, with Billboard, the 21-year-old rocker explained how she felt about the aftermath of Will Smith slapping Chris Rock in the face for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald head.
“I see my whole family as being human, and I love and accept them for all their humanness,” Willow said. “Because of the position that we’re in, our humanness sometimes isn’t accepted, and we’re expected to act in a way that isn’t conducive to a healthy human life and isn’t conducive to being honest.”
She’s actually not wrong. Willow and her family are not often afforded the same grace as a family in a more regular life. Do they bring some of that on themselves with overly personal information? Yes. However, other times, it’s the sad byproduct of being the child of or married to one of the most famous movie stars in the world.
Yes, Will messed up on an extremely public stage. Does that mean he deserves to lose everything he’s worked for and have his whole family dragged through the public square? Of course not.
Whether you believe the sincerity of his recent apology video or not, it’s clear he’s in no way proud of his actions. In the video, the King Richard star expresses how sorry he is to Rock, the comedian’s family, the other Oscar nominees and his own family. The Bad Boys actor also tries to forgive himself.
“I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself. I’m human and I made a mistake,” Smith said. “I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of shit.”
I’m not defending Will’s actions, but as Willow said her family, like everyone else, is human. Maybe we should offer them the grace we needed after our worst mistakes and let them work their way through this with a little dignity.