Will Smith Makes Plea to Fans After Chris Rock Slap: 'I Promise We'll Be Able to Be Friends Again'
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Will Smith has a message for those who look up to him: Stick with me.
The 53-year-old actor addressed his fans on camera for the first time since slapping Chris Rock in the face at the 94th Academy Awards, in a video posted Friday to YouTube and social media.
In the nearly 6-minute video, Will apologized to Rock, 57, and answered several questions posed by fans, including why he didn't apologize to Rock during his Best Actor acceptance speech ("I was fogged out by that point").
The final question in the video read, "What would you say to the people who looked up to you before the slap or people who expressed that you let them down?"
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"Disappointing people is my central trauma. I hate when I let people down," Will replied. "It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn't live up to people's image and impression of me."
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RELATED: Will Smith Apologizes to Chris Rock in New Video: "I'm Here Whenever You're Ready to Talk"
"I am deeply remorseful, and I'm trying to be remorseful without be ashamed of myself," he continued. "Right? I'm human. And I made a mistake and I'm trying not to think of myself as a piece of s---."
As for what he would say to those who look up to him, "I know it was confusing, I know it was shocking, but I promise you I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world."
Will Smith/Youtube; MediaPunch/Shutterstock Will Smith; Chris Rock
"And if you hang on, I promise we'll be able to be friends again," he concluded.
Near the beginning of the video, the King Richard actor revealed he has "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," Will added.
Carlos Alvarez/Getty Will Smith
At the March 27 ceremony, before his win for Best Actor, Will walked onstage and hit Rock on live television after taking issue with a joke about wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head. (Jada, 50, lives with alopecia.)
Will explained in a statement days later, as he apologized to Rock, that the punchline was "too much for me to bear" and he "reacted emotionally."
In his Friday video, Will also apologized to Rock's family, including the comedian's mother and younger brother Tony Rock, as well as his own family, fellow Oscar nominees and Questlove, whose award Rock was presenting at the time of the slap.
"I won because you voted for me, and it really breaks my heart to have stolen and tarnished your moment," he addressed his fellow nominees. "I can still see Questlove's eyes ... 'I'm sorry' really isn't sufficient."
Reps for Rock did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment about Will's Friday video.
