SERENA Williams’ father ‘King Richard’ has broken his silence on Will Smith’s shocking Oscars scandal almost a year on, saying he doesn’t resent the star and joked he can slap his face if they ever meet.
The former tennis coach, who was played by the actor in the Hollywood biopic King Richard, sat down with The U.S. Sun for a world-exclusive chat, his first in several years.
Richard and his family say they do not condone violence, but the 80-year-old insists he doesn’t judge Will for his mistake and was overjoyed with his portrayal in the movie, which won the star a golden statue for Best Actor.
Will stunned the world when he walked up to last year’s Academy Awards host Chris Rock and slapped him across the face for cracking a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.
He then sat back down and bellowed: “Keep my wife’s name out your f***ing mouth,” as the audience fell silent and Rock appeared gobsmacked.
‘King Richard’, who has suffered multiple strokes and has some communication problems, did not attend the ceremony or watch it live but was shown the clip the next day on YouTube by his son, Chavoita LeSane.
“I think that whatever he [Will] wants to do, that’s what he should do,” Richard chuckled, “People are going to think what they want to think.
“If he apologized [that’s good], however he wants to deal with the situation. I wouldn’t judge anyone.”
In a video interview with The U.S. Sun, he also said: “They should let him keep his Oscar, too. When a person [has] worked for [it] so much, then leave it alone.
“I really appreciate him doing so very much so I could never criticize him,” adding that a 10-year ban from the Academy was too harsh, quipping “just two days, that’s enough, that’s very much.”
Asked if he’s upset at the star at all as the scandal overshadowed the movie’s success, Richard said: “No, he’s done a great deal for myself and my family. I think he did extremely well, it was very wonderful.”
Although Serena and Venus worked on the movie, which was their success story told through the eyes of their father, Will and Richard never communicated during the process.
Richard did not attend any promotional events or talk about the film around its release as he tends to shy away from the limelight and press, preferring to live a quiet life in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Asked if he would like to meet Will, 54, one day, Richard replied: “I definitely hope so, yes,” saying he would thank him for all of his hard work.
He’s done a great deal for myself and my family.”
Richard Williams
“I would say just, hello. And maybe, what I should do … just slap my face.”
Asked why they were never in contact or managed to meet, he simply said: “He’s busy and I guess I’m busy also, different locations, so I hope we’re going to meet at some point.”
Chavoita is unaware of whether Serena or Venus tried to arrange for Will to meet their dad, adding that he was “disappointed” nothing materialized but he was happy with the movie.
After the Oscars, Richard only released a statement through his son, which read: “We don’t know all the details of what happened. But we don’t condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense.”
Chavoita, 49, told The U.S. Sun in the first of a series of interviews with him and his dad that he felt the slap was a mistake, and he initially thought it was a skit set up by the Academy stars.
“I don’t really watch Oscars and stuff,” he admitted. “I’m not the big ceremony guy. So I think I saw it on YouTube or something.
“I showed it to my dad on YouTube. I don’t think he understood it at first, and then he got the gravity of it.
“I think he was thinking Chris Rock must have done something really bad to Will.
“At first, I definitely thought it was a joke. I said, ‘Ah, it’s a prank. They just want some attention or something.’
“I thought it was fake at first. I thought it was staged.
DECADE BAN
“And then it was like, no, he really slapped him. I was like wow. So that was weird.
“Then I was just bothered by the comment he made afterward, saying he was still in character.”
Deciding not the leave the ceremony despite reportedly being asked, Will later collected his award and was visibly upset as tears were seen rolling down his face.
He said: “This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people.
“Tim and Trevor and Zach and Saniyya and Demi and Aunjunue and the entire cast and crew of ‘King Richard’ and Venus and Serena and the entire Williams family.
“Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like they said. I look like the crazy father just like they said about Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things.”
Chavoita shook his head and told The U.S. Sun: “My dad is not a violent man unless, you know, someone is coming at him in an aggressive manner.
“I don’t know if my dad holds grudges against anyone and my dad will always take the high road. That’s something I admire about my dad.
WILL’S APOLOGY
“I think Chris Rock’s feelings are more important than mine when it comes to Will being banned because he was humiliated on the show.
“What Chris Rock did was not threatening, he’s a comedian, and he gets paid to tell jokes. It was a very dry joke.
“Hopefully Chris and Will can come back together and who knows, they might make a movie together down the line, and make a lot of money.
“Everybody’s going to want to see them in a movie together. That’s the world. We’re still talking about a slap!
“And to be honest with you, Chris Rock has probably made so much money from the slap, he sold out the show the next day, the slap probably doesn’t even hurt him no more.”
Chavoita admits he and his dad had little involvement in the King Richard film as they are focused on their upcoming documentary, On The Line, which is told in his father’s words and premiered at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
Serena and Venus were on board to help develop the first King Richard movie with directors and producers and appeared with Will Smith to promote it.
Although Smith was already attached to the project, and the family’s first choice, Richard and his son also liked the idea of Samuel L Jackson or Eddie Murphy taking the role, the latter of which joked about the slap at this year’s Golden Globes.
SERENA’S SHOCK
“Other than myself negotiating with them to actually create the film, I really didn’t get involved in anything else,” Chavoita said. “I read the script and stuff before they filmed.
“They reached out and asked a few things, but I wanted to focus on On The Line, so I’m excited for when we do hit theaters.”
Shortly after Will delivered the loud slap on stage at the Oscars, Serena shared a video on her Instagram showing her looking shocked.
In a second clip, the sportswoman admitted she “had to put her drink down,” but she and her sister Venus are still yet to comment on the controversy.
Speaking to Trevor Noah on the Daily Show recently, Will Smith admitted he “just lost it” over Rock’s joke about Jada’s hair, as she suffers from alopecia.
“That was a rage that had been bottled for a really long time,” he said, as he tried to justify his shocking behavior live on air.
“I guess what I would say is you just never know what someone is going through. I was going through something that night. … It’s like when they say ‘Hurt people hurt people,’ you know?”
Will’s Hollywood career has suffered in the past year as many supported Rock, who decided not to press charges, but the actor has learned to forgive himself “for being human.”
“I had to humble down and realize that I’m a flawed human and I still have an opportunity to go out in the world and contribute in a way that fills my heart and hopefully helps other people,” he added.
