Zoe Kravitz wishes she had 'handled things differently' after Will Smith's Oscar slap

Hollywood diva Zoe Kravitz wishes she had handled things differently after Will Smith struck Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars ceremony.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the actress shared Instagram posts that appeared to refer to Smith confronting Rock onstage at the March 27 event and yelling at him from his seat following a joke about the 'King Richard' actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The posts, which didn't specifically name anyone, drew criticism from Smith's supporters and were later taken down.

"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," Kravitz told the publication. "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."

One of her posts from the time of the incident showed the star of 'The Batman' on the red carpet and included the caption, "Here's a picture of my dress at the award show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now." A second post featuring another picture of herself at the Oscars included a similar message: "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."

Kravitz told the magazine that she doesn't feel the need to always make comments that will be universally supported. "I was reminded that I'm an artist. Being an artist is not about everybody loving you or everyone thinking you're hot. It's about expressing something that will hopefully spark a conversation or inspire people or make them feel seen," she continued. "I think I'm in a place right now where I don't want to express myself through a caption or a tweet. I want to express myself through art."

She continued by saying that she has mixed feelings about her Oscars posts and wouldn't necessarily handle it in the same way if she could go back in time. "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," Kravitz said. "I wish I had handled that differently. And that's OK."

Her remarks come after Smith posted an update on Instagram last month regarding his response to comedian Chris Rock's stage joke about his wife's shaved head, which occurred right before Smith accepted the best actor Oscar for 'King Richard'. "There is no part of me that believes that was the appropriate behaviour at that time," Smith said in the message, among other things.

In addition to apologising to Rock on Instagram the day after the ceremony, he had previously apologised to the Academy during his acceptance speech. Smith later withdrew from the Academy, which has since prohibited him from attending its functions for a period of ten years, even though he will continue to be eligible for nominations and awards for the Academy Awards.

• Americas