In a post shared on Instagram, Tyrese has praised his “hero” Will Smith following the release of a video in which he addressed the Chris Rock Oscars slap.
“We all just watched a video with ALL HEART that would of never ever been uploaded from anyone on this earth like this but WILL SMITH,” wrote Tyrese in a comment on the actor’s Instagram post of the latest apology video. “After 3 months [as so much other STUFF has happened in the world] he’s been paused and put in mental, emotional and traumatic prison. Because when you actually CARE for people how you effect them from your WORDS and CHOICES you lose a LOT of sleep over those very mistakes.”
In Smith’s new video addressing the situation, he explained why he didn’t mention Rock in his Best Actor acceptance speech and directly apologized to him, his mother, and his family. He added that he believes “no part” of him thinks he handled the incident appropriately. He also apologized to Questlove, whose Summer of Soul won Best Documentary Feature shortly after the moment went down.
“Will Smith if you see this message big bro the real ones out here love you and have never ever stopped loving you because we know you are HUMAN,” Tyrese continued. “We also have never stopped loving Chris, his family or Jada or your family… You def broke the internet… But if Suge Knight had slapped someone at the Oscars it would of been in the blogs for 4 days and been over… If [sic] wasn’t the slap or the mistake it was because it was YOU that slapped and made the mistake.”
He went on to suggest that everyone has forgiven Smith for his actions, and joked that he owns a “bootleg Oscar” while the King Richard actor has a real one. “You’re my forever and ever hero and I thank you for growing up in REAL TIME and showing us what it’s like to be the BIGGEST MOVIE STAR in the WORLD and then showing us ALL that you’re HUMAN and make mistakes too,” Tyrese wrote. “The difference is most won’t apologize! That’s what always make you the BIGGEST STAR in every room you walk into.”
He later shared the comment on his own Instagram page, alongside another message for Smith. “Just wanna make sure that I got this message to you,” he added.
Following the drama of the Oscars slap, Will Smith was banned from future Academy events for a decade. Jada Pinkett Smith addressed the situation earlier this year, and said that she hopes to see the two men “talk this out.”
