Will Smith Must Do More Than Just Apologize to Save Face

When one of the biggest stars in Hollywood assaults another star for the world to see on the Academy Awards stage, you better believe there are going to be repercussions.

Will Smith began to undo the damage done to his reputation by issuing an apology Monday, less than 24 hours after he slapped Chris Rock for mocking his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. But if he thinks a text statement is enough to put this behind him, he is sorely mistaken. While our scandal-per-minute tabloid culture typically numbs the public to the point where just about every controversy is quickly forgotten, this was too dramatic an incident to turn the page that easily.

Here's Will Smith's full statement on the #Oscars incident: https://t.co/WrMBlz2gBy pic.twitter.com/k1u9aqsWjh

— Variety (@Variety) March 28, 2022

If crisis PR has taught us anything, digging out of a hole this deep will be a complicated, multistep affair, and Slapgate will be no exception. Here’s what has to happen next:

While Smith has smartly apologized to Rock in his statement after stupidly limiting his onstage apology to the Academy and fellow nominees, what’s unclear at this point is if he has actually spoken directly to the comedian. That’s what basic decency dictates after hitting someone. If it comes to light that Smith didn’t even reach out to Rock, it’s going to be a bad look for the “King Richard” star.

A statement that was probably written by a team of flacks is the easy way out. Smith can hide behind that all he wants, but he will come across as a coward if he doesn’t actually personally extend himself. And even if he does, there’s no guarantee Rock will respond, which will also reflect badly on Smith.

What would be ideal is if after getting in contact with each other, the men go public together with a message of forgiveness. It wouldn’t excuse Smith’s behavior, but if Rock is willing to play down the incident, that would go further to rehabilitate Smith’s image more than anything else.

But because a text statement doesn’t resonate the way hearing Smith talk directly would, Smith really needs to be heard from by the public.

There was a time when it was de rigueur for any celebrity caught up in a crisis to try and dig themselves out by sitting for an interview with a late-night show like “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon,” a morning show like “Today” or a newsmagazine like “Dateline.” That strategy has fallen out of favor over time though done correctly can still be a shrewd move. Then there is, of course, Oprah Winfrey, who demonstrated last year, with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, that she can work wonders and generate big ratings (probably a bigger audience than the Oscars itself received).

Of course, this strategy comes with considerable risk: While there’s so much more Smith could say to clear the air on the subject, you could also argue any further words from him are just providing more rope with which he could potentially hang himself, setting him up to be crucified worse than he’s already been.

The thing that’s forgotten so often in damage control is that silence is the best way to starve a dumpster fire of the oxygen that keeps it burning. Even if he’s in a bad place now, that doesn’t necessarily mean making additional moves can help.

Don’t be surprised if Smith does give any kind of interview, that he does so with his wife by his side. What’s effective about taking this tack is that Pinkett Smith defending her husband can put his actions in a more sympathetic light, particularly if she opens up about her struggle with alopecia. Don’t forget that she also has the perfect venue for this kind of strategy in her Facebook show “Red Table Talk,” which she and Smith already savvily used last year to dispel rumors about their allegedly troubled relationship.

Perhaps, however, TV isn't the right forum for a guy like Smith. With all the talk about what’s at stake for his movie career, what’s forgotten is that Smith is every bit the social media celebrity as he is a film star. He has incredible reach, particularly on Instagram, which he could leverage far more effectively than any interview he would give on TV.

So far, all Smith has done on IG is leave a tongue-in-cheek comment on a post he made prior to the show. “You can’t invite people from Philly or Baltimore nowhere,” he wrote, in reference to the cities he and his wife are from.

But that’s not going to cut it. Sometimes celebrities in crisis are best served by simply speaking directly to camera in an informal, off-the-cuff manner that radiates more authenticity than more structured, polished interviews. Smith certainly has the ability to come across sincerely without seeming too stiff or practiced. That’s where so many other tarnished celebrities often fail and end up doing more damage.

Regardless, taking additional steps beyond his statement is a risk he has to take. While Smith has dealt with all sorts of highs and lows over the course of his storied career, he's never faced anything like this before. No doubt he's praying he never will again.