Nolte: Time to Forgive Will Smith Says Father of Serena, Venus Williams

Richard Williams, father of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams, says it’s time to forgive Will Smith.

I’d say it’s long past time.

“I think he has done the best thing he needed to do, but I would never be disgusted with Mr. Smith. Matter of fact, I appreciate Mr. Smith,” Williams told Good Morning Britain Monday morning.

Williams added that he “didn’t feel sorry” for Chris Rock and that “it’s time for everyone to forgive Will Smith.”

Watch below:

The father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams has broken his silence to defend Will Smith over the slapping of comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars.

In a world exclusive, @Noel_Phillips talks to Richard Williams. pic.twitter.com/F11kcb5ZzX

— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) March 6, 2023

This is all about what happened at last year’s Oscars when Smith won a well-deserved Oscar for his portrayal of Richard Williams in King Richard. Prior to Smith winning that Oscar, presenter Chris Rock took to the stage and made an anodyne joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Well, Big Willie lost it. He stalked the stage, assaulted Rock with a slap (that Rock took like a man), and then took his seat to scream F-words at Rock.

Of all the crazy things that have happened at the Academy Awards and all award ceremonies, this took home the brass ring by a country mile.

It was a flat-out assault. But…

It happened almost exactly a year ago; Smith has apologized more than once and accepted his punishment—a ten-year ban from the Motion Picture Academy, not to mention a permanent black mark on his legacy. So, of course, it’s time to forgive Smith. Time to move on. Time to allow Smith to move on. What more do you want from the guy?

As we saw over the weekend, however, Chris Rock is nowhere near ready to forgive Smith, and him I don’t blame. Rock is free to make a meal out of this for as long as he wants, which is precisely what the brilliant stand-up comedian did on Netflix Saturday night.

But as I have said a thousand times, and will say a thousand times more, I am tired of living in a country that does not accept apologies or offer third, fourth, and fifth chances.

I am tired of fallible human beings who express sincere remorse being hurled forever into the Forbidden Zone by our modern-day McCarthyites.

What Will Smith did to Chris Rock was unforgivable. But Will Smith is not unforgivable. He’s just a man. A fallible man. And who among us…? No, as an adult, I’ve never struck someone out of the blue like that. But I’ve certainly lashed out in ways I still regret, and that can sometimes cause more pain than a slap.

More and more, I’m grateful to be a card-carrying member of Generation X, a generation of latchkey kids who learned how to take care of themselves and move on from indignities rather than wallow in victimhood and the narcissism involved in refusing to forgive. A grudge is a simplistic, cheap, and artificial way to feel superior to someone.

You see, like me, Richard Williams is a flawed man. Flawed men believe in second chances because we have needed them. The worst people in the world are those who are certain of their perfection. They aren’t perfect. Their refusal to forgive proves that. But they think they are perfect, and they are the worst.

Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC. Follow his Facebook Page here.