Will Smith's co-star defends Oscar slap

Will Smith's co-star, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, has defended Smith's infamous Oscar slap.

The actress, who starred in King Richard alongside Smith, believes her co-star did nothing wrong.

"I know that he wanted to protect his wife," she said of Smith slapping Chris Rock on-stage over his remarks about Jada Pinkett Smith's closely cropped hair at the 2022 Oscars.

"I stand by that," she said on the Daily Beast's Obsessed podcast. "I stand with him for that."

She added that she believes Chris Rock deserved the confrontation. "I think that, you know, this idea that First Amendment rights should protect everybody? I don't think it should necessarily protect a**holes," she said. "I don't. I don't. I really don't, especially if you're causing harm."

She added that during her time working with Smith on King Richard, he was a "caretaker" for the whole cast.

"Will Smith is the most caretaking actor that I've ever worked with," she said. "He just would not allow anybody to be treated poorly in his presence. He would just not allow it. And I cannot tell you how rare that is in this job. I will always have a great deal of affection and care for him because he acted that way."

Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor has been nominated for an Oscar, an AACTA and a BAFTA award for her role as Oracene "Brandy" Price in King Richard.