Zoe Kravitz: what did The Batman actress say about Will Smith Oscars slap backlash and Jaden Smith interview?

Batman actress Zoe Kravitz has said she regrets criticising actor Will Smith for hitting comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony in March as she has faced public backlash herself in the months since.

The incident happened during the the 94th Academy awards on 27 March after Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

After she called Smith out for his actions on Instagram actress Kravitz, who is dating actor Channing Tatum, was criticised for making comments about Smith’s son Jaden during a magazine interview almost 10 years ago.

Smith himself, who was barred from Academy events for 10 years because of the incident, has since apologised to Rock in a video released in July 2022.

But what exactly did Kravitz say about the now infamous Oscars slap, what did she say about Jaden Smith in the resurfaced interview, and what has she now said about her regret?

Here’s what you need to know.

What did Zoë Kravitz say about her reaction to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock?

In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Kravitz said she had “complicated feelings” about her earlier reaction to the slap, in which she responded with “nope” when asked if she supported Smith.

She said: “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. I wish I had handled that differently. And that’s okay.

“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 added that the moment reminded her that she’s 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.”

What exactly did Zoë Kravitz say about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock?

Zoë Kravitz, who is best known for playing Catwoman in 2022 film The Batman and Bonnie Carlson in TV series Big Little Lies, seemingly made her disapproval of Smith’s actions known through two posts on her official Instagram account.

The first image, posted on 29 March, shows Kravitz in the pink dress she wore during the Oscars ceremony, which happened on Sunday 27 March in Los Angeles.

The caption reads: “Here’s a picture of my dress at the award show where we are apparently assaulting people on stage now.”

The second image shows Kavitz in a white dress she wore during the afterparty.

The caption reads: “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.”

The posts began to attract some negative comments, and the commenting function has since been turned off on both images.

What did Zoë Kravitz say about Jaden Smith?

Some Twitter users didn’t like the fact that Kravitz had involved herself in the dispute between Will Smith and Chris Rock, and it didn’t take long for her name to start trending on the social media platform.

Users were also quick to point out that nine years ago Kravitz made comments about Smith’s son Jaden, when she was 24 years old, which they deemed to be inappropriate.

During an interview which was published in the May 2013 issue of V magazine, Kravitz discussed Will’s son Jaden, who was 14 at the time.

The pair appeared together in 2013  film After Earth, alongside Will Smith.

She said: “There were moments that I was hanging out with Jaden and thinking, I can’t believe you’re 14, I have to check myself, like what I say to you.

“He has so much personality and so much swag, he is so much cooler than I am. And he’s so handsome, I was always like when you’re older, you know, we’ll hangout.

“Nope, that’s inappropriate, you’re 14."

A clip of Kravitz talking about Jaden on America TV channel Extra TV also surfaced on Twitter, and drew even more criticism for the star.

Kravitz, who was then aged 26, can be heard telling a television presenter that Jaden, who was 16 at the time, is the love of her life and her date to the event they are at.

It’s not clear which event the star was speaking at, or if there was any truth behind her comments.

What was the Twitter reaction to Zoë Kravitz’s resurfaced comments?

Twitter users have been calling for Kravitz to be cancelled after the magazine interview and television clip resurfaced.

One user, who goes by the name of Monique, summed up the situation when she posted: “Will Smith smacked Chris Rock. Zoe Kravitz is getting dragged. It’s only Wednesday.”

Another Twitter user said: “Zoe Kravitz being weird as hell and we’d genuinely have no idea if it wasn’t for that instagram post??”

Another said: “You tellin me Zoe Kravitz was tryna flirt wit a 14 year old Jaden Smith yet tried to diss Will Smith on instagram”.