Will Smith has finally done his first interview since the infamous Oscars moment that saw him slap Chris Rock across the face on stage.
The actor – who went on to win an Academy Award for King Richard that same night – chose to speak to Trevor Noah on The Daily Show last night.
Will has kept quite a low profile since The Slap, but will return to our screens soon in new AppleTV film Emancipation.
In his interview, he said he had a lot of ‘bottled rage’ which exploded in a very public setting after comedian Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head.
Will got visibly emotional when discussing his nephew’s reaction.
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He said: “My nephew is nine. He is the sweetest little boy.
“We came home. He had stayed up late to see his uncle Will and we are sitting in my kitchen and he is on my lap and he is holding the Oscar and he is just like, ‘Why did you hit that man, Uncle Will?’”
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He then took out his tissues and said: “Damn it. Why are you trying to Oprah me?”
“I was gone. That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time,” Smith said.
Will then explained: “{It was a lot of things, it was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother. All of that just bubbled up in that moment. That’s not who I want to be…”
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He also said: “There’s many nuances and complexities to it. But at the end of the day, I just – I lost it, you know.
“I guess what I would say is that you just never know what somebody’s going through. I was going through something that night, you know? Not that that justifies my behaviour at all.”
Flash back to March and the week of the Oscars, and the award ceremony host Chris Rock made a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alopecia, comparing her shaved head to GI Jane.
Will Smith and Lupita N’yongo at the Oscars this year.:
The joke didn’t go down well with the couple, needless to say, with Smith hopping up on stage to deliver a firm slap across Rock’s face.
He was later heard shouting: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth” while Hollywood’s elite looked on in shock.
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His full statement at the time said: “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.
“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.
“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.
“I am a work in progress.
“Sincerely, Will.”
Featured image: Comedy Central
TV & Showbiz
John Cena keeps following random people on Twitter and Lancashire Cricket Club had the best response of all
Danny Jones
If you told us that we’d one day be writing about professional wrestler-turned-actor John Cena and Lancashire Cricket Club in the same sentence, we’d probably have given you a funny look.
However, as weird a combo as it may sound, that day has come.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing this but it turns out John Cena follows A LOT of people on social media and not exactly people you’d expect him to be following.
We’re talking everyone from random fans, comedian-actor Danny Wallace, various regional journalists home and abroad; even our lovely editor — though that makes much more sense, we admit (great content, boss, please don’t sack me).
Honestly, you only have to type in ‘John Cena followed me’ on Twitter to pull up literally thousands of results. This was one posted literally minutes before we started writing this:
As it turns out, Cena follows some over 533, 700 different people on Twitter alone and we seriously can’t find much of a thread that links any of them, but that doesn’t make any it less fun to dive into.
With that in mind, it recently came to light that the 45-year-old WWE legend and Suicide Squad star just so happens to follow Lancashire Cricket Club. Because why not?
Playing just down the road at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Lancashire Cricket might sound like a far cry away from the Hollywood sound stages and giant entertainment arenas where he made his name, but the familiar face has actually played a bit of cricket in his time.
Better still, thanks to the social media guys over at the Manchester-based cricket club and their absolutely impeccable response to spotting a certain Cena in their likes, he’s been put in Lancs colours. Turns out you can see him after all:
Somebody give that social admin a pay rise, right now.
Not so long ago, Cena did address the question as to why he follows so many people and the answer was actually quite a simple but wholesome one.
“It’s tough to follow the timelines because of how many people I follow. But I am trying to learn more about the world.”, he told ESPN‘s ‘Pardon My Take’ podcast, confessing that he even went down “a rabbit hole following EDM dance culture and non-fungible tokens and also Twitch streamers”.
He said that part of the reason is that he simply knows “nothing about any of these avenues of the world” and gets a kick out of people following him and vice versa, adding: “I am learning a little bit about each and every person as I go.” Well that’s just nice, isn’t it?
Guess we have a new favourite wrestler. Give us a follow while you’re at it, John.
Featured Image — Wikimedia Commons/Lancashire Cricket Club (via Twitter)
TV & Showbiz
People are loving Netflix’s new number one film about a real-life Burnley millionaire
Emily Sergeant
Did you know that a new biopic about a real-life millionaire from Burnley has surprisingly shot to the top of the Netflix charts?
It’s probably not what you’d expect, but in what has proved to be an unlikely smash-hit success for the streaming service, Netflix’s newest original film, Bank of Dave, has become the number one movie on the platform, beating out some genuine heavy-hitting features.
And people are absolutely loving it.
Bank of Dave is now available to stream on Netflix / Credit: Netflix UK & Ireland
Based on the true-life experiences of Dave Fishwick, Bank of Dave tells the story of how a working class man from Burnley became a self-made millionaire and fought to set up a community bank, so that he could help the local businesses of his beloved town not only survive in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, but also thrive.
Starring BAFTA-nominated actor Rory Kinnear as the title character, in his bid to help his beloved community of Burnley, Dave has to take on the elitist financial institutions of London and fight to receive the first new banking license to be issued in over 100 years.
The film also stars / Credit: Netflix UK & Ireland
Alongside Kinnear stars Stockport-born Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor as feisty local doctor Alexandra, and Joel Fry – who audiences may know for his roles in Yesterday, and 2021 live action Disney remake Cruella – as young London lawyer named Hugh who is hired by Dave to fight his case against the British banking system.
Legendary British actor Hugh Bonneville also stars in the film, and there’s even an unexpected cameo from rock band Def Leppard.
As you can probably tell by the synopsis, Bank of Dave isn’t quite the film you’d imagine to have captured the hearts of audiences nationwide as much as it has.
/ Credit: Netflix UK & Ireland
But in the first week since its release, the movie has been watched millions of times and has already become on of the feel-good success of the year so far.
People who’ve had the chance to see it have been taking to social media to share how much they love the film.
Fans are also encouraging others to give it a watch too.
Living in East Lancs we're known for poverty, football & our dodgy history with witches but how brilliant to see the real warmth of #Burnley in @netflix hit @BankofDave. It tells the story of @FishwickDavid taking on the establishment & is guaranteed to warm the❤️on a cold night
#BankofDave is a brilliant watch on @NetflixUK. Well worth a couple of hours of your time. Amazing true story and credit to everyone involved. Great example of community spirit and community power. @FishwickDavid
We’ve just finished watching #TheBankOfDave on @netflix – what a fabulous feel good film for a Friday night. Inspirational and truly beautiful – so happy for @BankofDave and all the residents of Burnley.
One enthusiastic fan wrote on Twitter: “Just watched Bank of Dave on Netflix. Fantastic. Brilliant. Feel-good film, and paints burnley for what it is – a reyt grand place.”
Another fan said on Twitter: “The Bank of Dave on Netflix is the feel good film of the year. A film about community has never been so timely. Every government minister should watch it,” while a third added: “I need a Bank Of Dave sequel immediately.
“One of THE most beautiful, heartfelt, poignant, magical and amazing films I’ve ever seen. I adore it. To everyone involved, thank you. Oh and thanks to the credits, I just found out it’s a TRUE STORY.”
Bank of Dave is now available to stream on Netflix.
Daisy Jackson -
29th November 2022 
