The Batman star Zoë Kravitz has expressed regret over her initial response to the Will Smith Oscars controversy.
After Smith slapped Chris Rock for making a joke about the former's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, at the 94h Academy Awards, Kravitz posted a photo from the event on Instagram. "Here's a picture of my dress at the show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now," she wrote. Kravitz's post was met with backlash from those who believed she was oversimplifying a complicated matter. In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kravitz admitted that she wishes she hadn't said anything. "I have very complicated feelings around it," she explained. "I wish I had handled that differently. And that's okay."
Kravitz went on to describe what she feels is a tough time to be in the public eye. "It's a scary time to have an opinion or to say the wrong thing or to make controversial art or statements or thoughts or anything," she said. "It's mostly scary because art is about conversation. That should, in my opinion, always be the point. The internet is the opposite of conversation. The internet is people putting things out and not taking anything in."
Kravitz's comments come on the heels of Smith formally addressing the slap himself. In a new YouTube video, the I Am Legend actor said that he feels "deeply remorseful" about what happened. Smith also said that he hopes to apologize to Rock face-to-face, but added that Rock is "not ready to talk and when he is he will reach out." Smith made a direct message to Rock and his family, saying, "My behavior was unacceptable and I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
On an episode of Red Table Talk, Jada Pinkett Smith said she hopes that the two can reconcile. "My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out and reconcile," she said.
Will Smith has been banned by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences from the Oscars for the next decade due to the slap. Smith also resigned from the Academy, calling his actions at the ceremony "shocking, painful, and inexcusable." He added that he hopes to learn from this experience, saying that, "Change takes time," and assuring fans, "I am committed to doing the work to ensure that I never again allow violence to overtake reason."
Source: The Wall Street Journal, via ComicBook.com