Will Smith Wins First Oscar For King Richard’; Shares Emotional Speech After Heated Exchange With Chris Rock
deadline.comWill Smith was emotional while accepting his first Academy Award for his portrayal of Richard Williams, father of Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.
The win comes after the actor had a heated exchange with Chris Rock, who made a G.I. Jane joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith who has alopecia.“Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family, and at this time in my life, at this moment, I am overwhelmed by what God is calling on me to do and be in this world, Smith said.He continued, “Making this film I got to protect Aunjanue Ellis, who was one of the strongest, most delicate people I’ve ever met.
I got to protect Saniyya [Sidney] and Demi [Singleton], the two actresses who play Venus and Serena. I’m being called on in my life to love people and protect people and be a river to my people.
In order to do that, you gotta be able to take abuse— you got to be able to have people talk crazy about you. In this business, you got to be able to have people disrespecting you and you got to smile and you got to pretend like that’s okay.”Rock served as a presenter earlier in the evening when he made the quip, leading Smith to walk up to the stage and slap the comedian.
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