Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty
Will Smith’s recent sit-down withThe Daily Show’s Trevor Noah has been met with varying reactions from Hollywood insiders.
Smith previously apologized toChris Rockfor hitting him atthe Oscarsearlier this year in avideo he released on his social mediain July. On Monday’s episode of Noah’s Comedy Central late show, Smith took part in his first interview since the incident aired. While promoting his new filmEmancipation, Smith, 54, said of the incident, “There’s many nuances and complexities to it, you know, but at the end of the day,I just — I lost it.”
Industry sources shared mixed reactions with PEOPLE about the emotional interview and whether audiences will be willing to move pastthe Oscarsmoment.
About the interview, a veteran studio publicist source says, “I thought he was doing a good job but he did two things that bothered me: He never said he was sorry again, and he didn’t address Chris Rock again. Maybe that’s on purpose, but when he said, ‘I have to accept myself as being a flawed human,’ it was a little bit of,I’m letting myself off the hook. I wanted to hear something about the work he’s doing.”
“I do believe he’s gutted. But I needed more humility,” the source adds. “I don’t think this automatically shifts him into a different position in the Oscar race but I do appreciate that he recognizes he’sjeopardized the work of all these artists. I just wanted ‘sorry.’ What I do agree with is that cancel culture is getting bananas. I don’t think he should be judged on this one incident [the rest of his life].”
That source says they think Smith’s recent “public apology tour is better than what he released months ago” on his social media channels.
Another longtime industry PR executive says: “I will tell you that my position is this: Audiences love him. The industry loves him.”
“What hurt so much in that slap is that it was one of the most beloved actors of our generation,” the source continues. “It may not be today or tomorrow (or, specifically,thisOscar season), but as horrible as the moment was, people really wish it never happened and would love to be able to move on. Chris Rock, to be clear, deserves a lot of credit for that. Had he handled it differently — and he had every right to do so — we’d all be in a different place.
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Jeff Bock, media analyst at Exhibitor Relations Co., tells PEOPLE that the awards campaign surroundingEmancipationis “obviously fully conceived and constructed for Smith to be brought back into the good graces of audiences, more so than advertising the film itself.”
Smith — who resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and wasbanned from attending its ceremoniesfor the next 10 years — said in avideo earlier this summerthat he has been doing “a lot of thinking and personal work” in the months since the incident.
Will Smith onThe Daily Show with Trevor Noah.The Daily Show with Trevor Noah/Youtube
He said, “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Smith explained at the time that he is “trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself,” adding, “I’m human. I made a mistake and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s—.”
During hisDaily Showappearance, he told Noah, “I guess what I would say, you just never know what somebody’s going through. You just don’t know what’s going on with people. And I was going through something that night. Not that that justifies my behavior at all.”
InEmancipation, Smith stars as Peter, a man whose escape from slavery forces him to rely “on his wits, unwavering faith and deep love for his family” as he runs from slave hunters and through Louisiana on his journey toward freedom.
source: people.com
