Will Smith stayed out of the public eye after he slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. Rock had made a joke about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith and her bald head. When Smith walked on stage to present an award, he slapped Rock with an open hand.
The Set It Off actress suffers from alopecia, a condition that causes hair loss. It’s been reported that Rock had no idea of the Red Table Talk host’s condition, while others say there was longstanding tension between Rock and the Smith family.
Smith accepted a 10-year ban from the Academy, and relinquished his membership. Since then, he’s apologized to Rock twice, once in the form of an Instagram video.
He has now seemingly made a complete return to social media since his hiatus.
On Friday, Aug. 19, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air front man posted a video on Instagram that hinted at his possible return. Smith, 53, shared a throwback viral clip of a baby gorilla poking an enormous gorilla from behind to get their attention.
“Me trying to get back on social,” he captioned the post.
In the apology clip, Smith claimed he had reached out to Rock privately. But Rock was “not ready to talk” but would “reach out” when he was.
Rock has made a few jokes about the incident, but had yet to speak at length. Reports allege that Rock simply wants to move on. Pinkett Smith has called for “healing” between the two men.
For the first time since the incident, the Smiths were seen publicly. They left a restaurant in Malibu.A source later told PEOPLE, “Will is doing good. He spends a lot of time with Jada.
He is very happy about her constant support. They are very close and back each other up. Family is everything to them.” The source added that Smith has “learned a lot in the past few months.”
(Fanfest)
