The View Co-Hosts Deem Will Smith's Oscars Slap Forgivable After His Latest Apology

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Academy Awards, it opened up a discussion about whether the reaction was justified. People were extremely passionate about how they felt and what they believed was right. It caused so much controversy that the "King Richard" star resigned from the academy, per Variety.

As everything unfolded from the controversial moment, people continued to give their opinions on each action Smith took — including the co-hosts of "The View." A couple of months after the slap, Smith released a public apology on his YouTube channel. The co-hosts of "The View" shared their feelings about him trying to make amends. At that time, many of the co-hosts, including Alyssa Farah Griffin, Sara Haines, and Ana Navarro disagreed with Smith, according to The Wrap. Farah Griffin said, "It's an important first step, but I mean, I think he's got to go further." In November 2022, Smith again apologized for the slap on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah." Smith said, "I was going through something that night, you know. Not that that justifies my behavior at all." The actor reiterated that the person that night was "not who I want to be."

Smith's apology on the talk show changed how people viewed the incident and the actor himself — including the co-hosts of "The View." The co-hosts opened up about how they believe viewers should and will be able to forgive Smith for what happened at the award show.

The co-hosts of "The View" had a change of heart after seeing Will Smith apologize again for the infamous Oscar slap on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah."

Several co-hosts felt that Smith has dealt with more than enough punishment and criticism. On the episode of "The View," Joy Behar shared, "Well, he posted a six-minute long video on YouTube apologizing to Chris Rock ... He's resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, he's banned from the events for the next 10 years." She added, "I mean, it's not like he did something so horrible, like had Thanksgiving with Trump." Behar's fellow co-hosts agreed with her statement, but maybe not to that extremity. Sunny Hostin said, "Like Joy said, he's definitely apologized over and over again ... So when is enough enough?" The scrutiny following the incident had individuals wanting nothing to do with Smith.

"The View" co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin believes that many view Smith as this nice guy who starred in the famous '90s sitcom, "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air." She explained, "We have these expectations of celebrities we want them to live up to. It's not fair; they're humans, he's going to go through struggles just like anyone." While Farah Griffin does believe the apology should have come sooner, she does think "audiences can forgive him." The co-host said, "There are certain things that are unforgivable ... I don't think this was."