Will Smith and Floyd Mayweather have ironically bonded over a slap. Smith recently revealed that the boxer called him ten days straight after his infamous Oscars incident.
During a private screening of the actor’s Emancipation movie, the 54-year-old recognized Mayweather and the support he’s given over the past seven months.
Video from the event shows Smith saying some kind words about the legendary boxer who attended the event. Smith revealed Mayweather called him immediately after he slapped fellow comedian Chris Rock during the Oscars and continued to check up on him for ten days straight.
“I want to say something also about Floyd. We’ve met each other, we’ve seen each other around, but we weren’t like, friends,” Smith began. “And, the day after the Oscars, for 10 days, he called me every day. And he was like, ‘Hey, you know you the champ, right? You good? You know you the champ, right? I want you to hear my voice say it. That was every day he called me, and it’s like, that’s my dude forever right there.”
Following the incident, the Academy banned Smith from all Academy-related events for ten years. He apologized to Rock in a YouTube video, admitting his “behavior was unacceptable.”
“There is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment,” he said. “There’s no part of me that thinks that’s the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insults.”
Rock addressed the apology during his European comedy tour with Dave Chappelle, suggesting it wasn’t genuine.
