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Zoe Kravitz regrets her Will Smith Oscar-slap reaction after ‘scary backlash’

Zoe Kravitz regrets her Will Smith Oscar-slap reaction after ‘scary backlash’

Zoe Kravitz regrets condemning Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.

Following the ceremony back in March, the 33-year-old star posted an Instagram picture of herself at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party and wrote: “And here is a picture of my dress at the party after the award show - where we are apparently screaming profanities and assaulting people on stage now.”

When an Instagram user asked in her comments: “You don't support him defending his wife?” she flatly replied: “nope.”

The Batman actress, who received swift backlash from Smith fans, has now said she could've had a more measured response.

“I’m torn about what to say right now, because I’m supposed to just talk about it; I have very complicated feelings around it,”she admitted to The Wall Street Journal

“I wish I had handled that differently. And that’s okay.”

Will Smith when he landed his now infamous Oscar-slap of Chris Rock  in March (Reuters)
Will Smith when he landed his now infamous Oscar-slap of Chris Rock in March (Reuters)

She added: “It’s a scary time to have an opinion or to say the wrong thing or to make controversial art or statements or thoughts or anything.

“It’s mostly scary because art is about conversation. That should, in my opinion, always be the point.

“The internet is the opposite of conversation. The internet is people putting things out and not taking anything in.”

When the star had first denounced Smith over the slap, many noted on social media that when the actor's son Jaden Smith was 15 and Kravitz was 25, she told US show Extra that he was her “date” at a red carpet event and jokingly called him the “love of my life”.

Kravitz attends the Academy Awards in March (Getty Images)
Kravitz attends the Academy Awards in March (Getty Images)

A 2013 V magazine article, where she gushed about how 'handsome' Jaden was at 14, was also unearthed.

Zoe, the daughter of rocker Lenny Kravitz and actress Lisa Bonet, had starred alongside Jaden and Will in sci-fi Box Office flop, After Earth.

“There were moments that I was hanging out with Jaden and thinking, I can’t believe you’re 14, I have to check myself, like what I say to you,” she told the publication at the time.

“He has so much personality and so much swag, he is so much cooler than I am. And he’s so handsome, I was always like, when you’re older, you know, we’ll hang out… Nope, that’s inappropriate, you’re 14.”

Smith's now infamous attack on Rock onstage at the Oscars, occured after the comedian made a bald joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who shaves her head because she suffers from alopecia, a disease that causes hair loss.

Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith on the Oscars red carpet before the attack (Getty Images)
Will Smith and wife Jada Pinkett Smith on the Oscars red carpet before the attack (Getty Images)

Rock said: “Jada, I love you. GI Jane 2, can't wait to see it,” in reference to the 1997 movie starring Demi Moore who wore her hair cropped short for the role.

While Smith initially laughed at the joke, he stormed onto the stage and slapped Rock across the face after seeing Pinkett-Smith roll her eyes.

When the King Richard actor returned to his seat, he repeatedly screamed at Rock: “Keep my wife's name out of your f***ing mouth!2

Smith has since received a 10-year ban from attending the Oscars and has apologised to Rock for his actions.