Richard Williams: 'It's Time for Everyone to Forgive' Will Smith

Richard Williams, who was played by Will Smith in a film, says he stands by the embattled actor. Smith was banned from the Oscars for 10 years after slapping host Chris Rock onstage at last year's Academy Awards; the actor apologized the next day. "I think he has done the best that he needed to do," Williams said in an interview on Good Morning Britain, per CBS News. "But I would never be disgusted with Mr. Smith. Matter of fact, I appreciated Mr. Smith." Later in the ceremony, the actor received an Oscar for portraying Williams, the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, in King Richard.

The organization should remove the ban on Smith, Williams said, adding that "it's time for everyone to forgive" the actor. In a show over the weekend, Rock was less forgiving. Shortly after the event last year, Williams told NBC News that he didn't "condone anyone hitting anyone else unless it’s in self-defense." Last month, Serena Williams said she could relate to making a mistake under pressure, per the Hollywood Reporter. “We're all imperfect, and we’re all human, and let’s just be kind to each other," she told CBS News. (More Richard Williams stories.)