Richard Williams, the father of tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, recently spoke out about the scandal involving Will Smith at the 2022 Oscars.

Smith, who portrayed Richard Williams in the biopic film “King Richard,” was involved in an incident where he slapped his co-star Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife.

In an interview with The U.S. Sun, Williams stated that while he wouldn’t judge Smith for his actions, he did suggest that the actor could have handled the situation better.

“I think that whatever he [Smith] wants to do, that’s what he should do. People are going to think what they want to think. If he apologized [that’s good], however, he wants to deal with the situation. I wouldn’t judge anyone,” the 80-year-old expressed.

Despite this, Williams expressed nothing but goodwill towards Smith, saying he’s done a great deal for himself and his family with the film.

The film, which was released in November 2021, told the success story of Venus and Serena Williams through the eyes of their father and was widely praised by critics and fans.

However, it turned out to be a box-office flop.

Williams was not in attendance at the Oscars due to health issues, but his son showed him the video of the incident involving Smith and Rock the next day.

When asked if he would like to meet Smith, Williams jokingly replied that he would say hello and that Smith could “slap his face” if he wanted to.

Despite the scandal, Williams believes that Smith should be allowed to keep his Oscar and that the award should not be mixed with the incident.

It’s worth mentioning that during the whole process of making the film, Richard Williams and Smith never established any sort of communication.