Stephen A. Smith recently spoke on his podcast to address his recent comments about Will Smith.
As we previously reported, the sports analyst said that the Black community is still awaiting an explanation from Will Smith regarding the viral incident involving the slap directed at Chris Rock during the 2022 Academy Awards ceremony. On Sunday, June 9, the renowned sports commentator expressed his views on the incident through his YouTube channel, coinciding with reports of Bad Boys: Ride or Die achieving blockbuster success at the box office over the weekend.
Despite his ongoing support for the Philadelphia native since the incident two years ago, he believes it is crucial for him to address the Black community directly and have a conversation about the moment. He emphasized that Chris Rock may never fully recover from the incident and has been significantly impacted by it.
“We know you wouldn’t have smacked Ricky Gervais, Bill Maher, Bill Burr or a host of others,” Smith said. “We know you wouldn’t have done that. No apology is necessary. I’m just saying a lot of folks ain’t get over that. A lot of folks find it hard to just go to the movies to watch you. I’m one of those people.”
Following discussions on the internet regarding his comments, Stephen reiterated his stance in a post posted on X (formerly Twitter).
“Yep. I said it,” he wrote. “But I have some additional thoughts — thinking about all that Will & Martin [Lawrence] have done for us all — especially after talking to my man Charlie Mack. I’ve got more to say on “The Stephen A. Smith Show/Podcast” tomorrow.”
During the conversation on his podcast, Smith explained that he wasn’t encouraging others to not see the film but he just felt like Will Smith hadn’t addressed the situation properly yet.