Tatyana Ali adores her beleaguered Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star, Will Smith. “He’s a beautiful person who has done so much good,” she told Page Six exclusively at Variety’s Power of Women luncheon in New York. Smith, 54, stunned the world last year when he memorably smacked Chris Rock onstage at the Academy Awards for making a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Ali, 44, declined to comment further about Smith. She didn’t want to talk about it because he is someone very close to her, and it hurts her. But she did admit that their Fresh Prince group chat was pinging the night of the Oscars crazily.

Tatyana Ali unhappy with Fresh Prince co-star

Tatyana Ali of Fresh Prince of Bel-Air has weighed in on Will Smith’s Oscar smack. After a week of processing the terrible scene, the actor who played Will’s younger cousin, Ashley Banks, gave her views on his outburst. She admitted that what he did was terrible, but she still has faith in him. Tatyana Ali says Chris Rock “didn’t deserve to be hit” by Will Smith for the joke he cracked at the 94th Academy Awards.

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Tatyana Ali and Will Smith
Tatyana Ali and Will Smith

One week after Smith’s slap, the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actress criticized her former costar’s action in a quick tweet. “I adore #WillSmith,” Ali added before emphasizing that Rock didn’t deserve to be hit by Smith. She also posted the tweet on Instagram, captioning it,

“Took me a while to get my thoughts together. What is right is right, what is wrong is wrong, and what is love is love.”

Will Smith stepped down as a member of the Academy

Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a result of his behavior at the Oscars. In a statement released via his manager, the King Richard star said “I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct” as a result of his actions on the night of the Academy Awards, which he termed shocking, painful, and inexcusable.

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Will Smith
Will Smith

“Those I have hurt include Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home. I betrayed the Academy’s trust,” Smith said. “I denied other nominees and winners the opportunity to enjoy and be honored for their amazing efforts.”

The message was made public after the King Richard actor punched comedian Chris Rock on stage during the 94th annual Academy Awards, in reaction to a snide comment Rock made about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head.

The Academy has accepted Will Smith’s resignation

The Academy’s President, David Rubin said that the organization had accepted Smith’s resignation. Rubin, on the other hand, also stated that the Academy intended to move forward with disciplinary actions against Smith for violations of the Academy’s Standards of Conduct ahead of their board meeting. At his first gig after the incident, Rock told a crowd at The Wilbur Theatre in Boston that he was still processing what occurred at the Oscars.

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Will Smith
Will Smith

Smith’s departure means he is no longer be a voting member of the Academy and will not have access to screeners for films under consideration. Smith has also been banned from attending future Academy Awards and related events for the next 10 years.

Source: Page Six

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