Ahead of the 2023 Oscars, Serena Williams Finally Opens Up About Will Smith and The Slap

With a little over four weeks until the 2023 Oscars, tennis legend and all-around GOAT Serena Williams is finally revealing her thoughts about the now infamous Will Smith/Chris Rock slap incident.

Speaking with Gayle King during an interview for CBS Mornings, Williams indirectly reacted to “that moment at the Oscars” as King put it—initially explaining how unfortunate it was for drummer and musician Questlove (his feature directorial debut, Summer of Soul, was announced as the winner for the category by Chris Rock mere moments after the comedian got slapped by Smith) but that she ultimately knows how it feels to be under pressure and make mistakes.

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“I thought it was such an incredible film, and I feel that there was an incredible film after that with Questlove that kind of was overshadowed,” she said per The Hollywood Reporter.” But I also feel that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been under a lot of pressure and made a tremendous amount of mistakes, and I’m the kind of person that’s like, ‘I’ve been there. I’ve made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world.’”

She added, “We’re all imperfect, and we’re all human, and let’s just be kind to each other. So, that’s often forgotten a lot.”

As previously reported by The Root, Smith took home his first Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Venus and Serena’s father in King Richard. In the aftermath of the unfortunate incident, he was subsequently banned from the Oscars for the next 10 years—though he can still be nominated for his work should the Academy voters so choose.

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