Even though the majority of people in attendance at the Oscars gave Will Smith a standing ovation, Mila Kunis is not going to back down from her decision not to do so.
Smith, 54, left his seat at the Academy Awards on March 27 in order to go onstage and hit Chris Rock over a joke that Rock had made about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith. The Luckiest Girl Alive actress, 39, and her husband Ashton Kutcher were in attendance at the event. (The joke was about Jada’s shaved head; she lives with alopecia. Will explained in a statement that he “reacted emotionally” because the punchline was “too much for me to bear.”)
Shortly after that, Smith was awarded the prize for Best Actor for his performance as King Richard, and he gave a speech that was filled with tears while the audience applauded him.
In a recent cover story for C Magazine, Kunis was quoted as saying that she was “shocked” by the number of people in the audience who supported him after the incident.
“The idea of leading by example only makes sense when you actually have someone to lead. We have our tiny little tribe here at home, and never once do I want to tell them to do something if I’m not willing to do it myself,” said the mom of two.
“Not standing up, to me, was a no-brainer, but what was shocking to me was how many people did stand up,” said Kunis. “I thought, ‘Wow, what a time we’re living in that rather than do what’s right, people focus on doing what looks good.’ It’s insane to me.”
Since then, Smith has issued an apology to Rock and resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has prevented him from attending any of the organization’s events for the next decade. He will make his comeback to the big screen in the upcoming drama Emancipation, which will be considered for awards during the following awards season cycle.
In a video that was uploaded earlier this summer, Smith explained that he has been “doing a lot of thinking and personal work” in the months following the events of the previous video. He said, “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk, and when he is he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”
Smith elaborated, stating that he is “trying to be remorseful without being ashamed of myself,” adding, “I’m human. I made a mistake and I’m trying not to think of myself as a piece of s—.”
Additionally, the actor addressed his disappointed followers, saying: “I hate when I let people down. It hurts me psychologically and emotionally to know I didn’t live up to people’s image and impression of me.”
“I know it was confusing, I know it was shocking, but I promise you I am deeply devoted and committed to putting light and love and joy into the world,” he continued in the video. “And if you hang on, I promise we’ll be able to be friends again.”
