Will Smith has opened up about the support he received from Floyd Mayweather following his controversial moment at the Oscars.
In a clip shared by TMZ, Smith can be seen telling a room of guests about how his friendship with Mayweather developed as the former world champion boxer listens on, nodding. According to Will, the two had only known each other in passing prior to the 2022 Oscars.
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But as he faced backlash for slapping Chris Rock over an inappropriate joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, Floyd Mayweather reached out to him personally, Will Smith said.
“For 10 days, he called me every day,” he recounted. “And he was like, ‘Ay! You know you the champ, right? You good? You know you the champ, right? I want you to hear my voice say it.’ Every day, he called me. And it’s like, that’s my dude forever right there.”
It’s unclear when or where the video was captured, though the setting seems similar to a screening held on Monday (October 24) for Will Smith’s forthcoming movie Emancipation, which hits theaters on December 2. The intimate preview was hosted by Dave Chappelle, with guests including Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Black-ish creator Kenya Barris and Tyler Perry.
While the March 27 moment led to a ban preventing Will Smith from participating in telecasts of the Academy Awards for the next 10 years, and an investigation by the LAPD, Floyd Mayweather was not the only person to voice his support for the King Richard actor.
Others including 50 Cent, Da Baby, Nicki Minaj and Vince Staples also spoke out on his behalf.
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For his part, after immediately issuing a written statement apologizing for his behavior, Smith remained out of the public eye for weeks, resurfacing in April following a spiritual retreat in India. In July, Will Smith also issued a video apology meant to address the numerous questions he’d seen asked about his altercation with Chris Rock.
He explained that he had been “thinking” and doing “personal work,” leading to him wanting to answer all the burning questions regarding that torrid night. First, the movie superstar explained the reason he didn’t apologize to Chris Rock during his Oscars acceptance speech was due to him being “fogged out.”
He also revealed he reached out to Rock after the Oscars, but the response he heard back was that he was “not ready to talk” to him. Smith said that he will reach out when that time comes before apologizing to Rock, telling him: “I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Despite not wanting to speak to Will Smith, Chris Rock addressed the situation just weeks later during a stand-up performance in Boston.
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Emancipation, which marks Will Smith’s first acting role since the Oscars, will be available for streaming on Apple TV+ a week after its theatrical release.
