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Zoë Kravitz 'wished' she handled Will Smith’s Oscar slap differently: 'It’s a scary time to have an opinion'

Zoë Kravitz said it's a "scary time to have an opinion" following backlash after condemning Will Smith for slapping Chris Rock onstage of the 2022 Oscars.

Zoë Kravitz is having some regrets.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kravitz revealed that she "wished" she handled how she called out Will Smith’s Oscar slap differently.

Shortly after the actress attended the awards show, Kravitz took to Instagram and shared a since-deleted picture of herself from the red carpet and wrote, "Here’s a picture of my dress at the show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now."

She also responded "nope" to an Instagram user who asked in the comments if she supported Smith’s actions.

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"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 told the outlet. "I wish I had handled that differently. And that’s OK."

At the time, Kravitz also posted a second since-deleted image with the caption, "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."

According to Variety, the 33-year-old actress faced heavy backlash online for her comments, with some internet users pointing to a 2013 interview she did with V magazine where she made comments about Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, who was 14 years old at the time.

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In her interview with WSJ, Kravitz addressed the aftermath of her Oscars post.

"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," she told the outlet. "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."

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She added: "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. 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."

Smith stunned the Dolby Theatre crowd and viewers at home when he took the stage during Rock's remarks after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith, Smith's wife.

Rock turned to Pinkett Smith and said, "Jada, I love you. ‘G.I. Jane 2,’ can’t wait to see it."

The joke touched a nerve. Pinkett Smith, whose head is shaved, has spoken publicly about her alopecia diagnosis. Smith has since publicly apologized to Rock and was banned from attending the Academy Awards for 10 years.

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