Will Smith’s ‘King Richard’ Co-Star Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor Defends the Oscars Slap: ‘I Stand By That’ Because the First Amendment Should Not ‘Protect A—holes’

When it comes to Will Smith‘s shocking Oscars slap, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor is sticking with her “King Richard” co-star.

The Oscar nominee, who played Smith’s on-screen wife as the mother of Venus and Serena Williams in the biopic, told The Daily Beast’s “Obsessed” podcast that she understands why Smith stormed the stage in 2022 and smacked Chris Rock after he made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head.

“I know that he wanted to protect his wife,” Ellis-Taylor said of Smith. “I stand by that. I stand with him for that.”

After Rock made a joke comparing Pinkett Smith (who has alopecia) to G.I. Jane, Smith slapped Rock and returned to his seat, yelling, “Keep my wife’s name out your fucking mouth!” Very shortly after, Smith won the Academy Award for best actor, but the surprise act of violence later earned him a 10-year ban from all events hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Ellis-Taylor continued, “I think that, you know, this idea that First Amendment rights should protect everybody? I don’t think it should necessarily protect assholes. I don’t. I don’t. I really don’t, especially if you’re causing harm.”