Stephen A. Smith Responds To Backlash Over Will Smith Comments: “I Got To Stand Down” 

Stephen A. Smith has had a change of heart after facing backlash after claiming Will Smith owes the Black community an explanation for slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.  

He clarified his remarks on his self-titled show, claiming the incident was “devastating” for Chris Rock and “for the Black community.” The veteran sportscaster also believes the slap affected Will Smith and Antoine Fuqua’s Oscar chances for Emancipation the following year.  

Stephen A. Smith said he made his remarks in light of Black people with Hollowood aspirations. He claimed he feared white people stereotyping Black actors because of Will Smith’s actions.  

“It was a blemish on all of us. Because I know how much white America reveres Will Smith and the thinking along the lines in my mind was, hell if he did that, what would the rest of us do,” he added. “There are certain things that happen in the lives of an individual where those incidences are used as a license to castigate the rest of us.” 

However, Stephen A. Smith said a conversation with a mutual friend changed his mind. He received a call from Charlie Mack, Will Smith’s decades-long friend and former security guard, who urged him to give the actor “grace.” 

Mack pointed out that this is how Will Smith earns his living and feeds his family and questioned why someone with such a blemish-free past isn’t allowed to make mistakes.  

Stephen A. Smith said Mack also encouraged him to consider the effect on Martin Lawrence and the teams of people who work on Will Smith’s movies. 

“Throughout Will Smith’s life, not just his career, there has been exponentially far more good than bad, and I certainly did not mean to gloss over that,” he said.  

He also was flooded with calls and messages from others who disagreed with his take and refused to cancel Will Smith. A video of Black fans swarming the 55-year-old at a Bad Boys: Ride or Die screening proved to Stephen A. Smith that Will Smith was still beloved.  

“So I got to stand down,” Stephen A. Smith conceded.  Check out his comments below, around the 50 minute mark.