Will Smith apologizes – again – to Chris Rock for striking him, this time in a video

Almost exactly five months later, Rock says he's still not ready to talk with Smith

Published: July 29, 2022 3:36pm

Updated: July 29, 2022 9:48pm

Actor Will Smith has again apologized to comedian Chris Rock for striking him during the 2022 Oscar telecast – this time in a video in which he says his behavior was "unacceptable."

“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment," the Oscar winning actor says in the roughly six-minute, online video posted Friday, according to the Associated Press.

"I am deeply remorseful and I’m trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself,” Smith also says.

He says to Rock: "I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk," the wire service also reports.

In the video, Smith speaks directly to a camera and answers pre-planned questions about the March 27 Academy Awards ceremony where he struck Rock with an open hand after the comedian made a comment about the hairstyle of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Smith in the video also apologized to Rock’s family.

Public relations expert Eric Schiffer, called the video "bizarre, strange and grossly over-rehearsed," the Associated Press also reports.