Richard Williams Condemns Will Smith’s Shocking Slap of Chris Rock at the Oscars

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Richard Williams, whom Will Smith portrayed in King Richard, has spoken out against the actor’s shocking Oscars slap.

Williams, also the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, issued a statement on the incident via his son Chavoita LeSane.

“We don’t know all the details of what happened,” Williams told NBC News. “But we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense.”

To recap the details, Smith stormed onto the Oscars stage and slapped Chris Rock across the face after the stand-up comedian made a joke about Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith, who has alopecia.

“Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it,” Rock said, referencing Smith’s shaved head.

Although Smith laughed at the joke at first, he later slapped Rock because of it — later apologizing to the Academy while accepting the Oscar for Best Actor.

Smith won Best Actor for his portrayal of Williams, whom he compared himself to during his speech.

“I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams,” he said on Sunday night. “But love will make you do crazy things.”

While he did not apologize to Rock during his acceptance speech, he later addressed Rock directly in a post on Instagram.

“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong,” he wrote. “I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”

Smith’s mother Carolyn Smith also addressed the incident, saying it was the first time she had seen Smith “go off.”