Serena Williams and Venus Williams‘ father King Richard recently sat down for an interview with Noel Philips for Good Morning Britain. The 81-year-old legendary coach has been out of public appearances for quite a while. His health is definitely one reason for it, but the fact that he is currently facing some brutal legal wars with his ex-wife could be another facet. However, when he finally sat down for this interview, he was as transparent as ever. Quite interestingly, Richard also opened up about the Will Smith-Chris Rock debacle at the 2022 Oscar Awards.

According to Richard, there is nothing much that Smith was at fault for. The actor was there for his film, which was a biography of Williams himself, named after him. However, after the unpopular incident, Will Smith faced a 10-year-long ban from the Academy. In this heart-to-heart interview, Richard also details his opinions on the ban against the popular Hollywood star.

Serena Williams’ father stands by Will Smith

While many celebrities would choose to criticize Will Smith’s behavior, King Richard stands by the man. He even justified Smith’s actions in the interview and said he would have done the same at that age. He further detailed that the ban should be lifted immediately. At the most, it should have been a day or a week, believes Richard.

As Noel Philips asks if Richard still stands by Will after the controversial incident, Richard was sure of his stance. “Yeah, I’ll always stand by him. I think he done the best that he need to do. I would never be disgusted with Mr. Smith. Matter of fact, I appreciate Mr. Smith.”

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He also spoke about how Chris Rock’s insult was wrong, to begin with. Chris insulted Will’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, and Richard finds that problematic. “I don’t see nothing wrong with that,” he says. “When I was 51 years or younger, I’d almost kill any damn one.” 

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He thinks Will Smith probably let Chris Rock easy, sparing his life after the uncalled insult directed at Jada. “I think he done a great deal not to,” says Richard.

Talking about the lifting of the ban, Richard thinks that “it definitely should be.” He further felt, “It should be just one day, or no more than one week at the most.” 

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Although earlier Richard’s son Chavoita LeSane talked about his father’s support for Will, this is the first time that King Richard himself has come down for an interview after the unpopular incident. As it seems, Will Smith has Richard’s full support backing his actions and we can sure hope the two legendary personalities will hit it off when they meet!