They were once three friends who made blockbuster hits together, but these days, Vivica A. Fox hasn’t had contact with Will and Jada Pinkett Smith. Fox starred in Independence Day alongside the former and Set It Off with the latter, and over the years, the superstars have developed a close relationship. Months ago when Smith shocked the world by slapping Chris Rock at the Academy Awards, everyone under the sun stepped forward to condemn the couple, including Fox who called out Jada for her reaction to the incident.
Fox chastised Jada for not taking accountability when it seemed to her that Smith was defending his wife’s honor. “I have love for the Smiths. I know their children. I’ve watched them grow up,” she said back in June. “I just wish we could have just a little more accountability and for it to not seem so self-righteous on Jada’s part and that’s my feelings.”
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PEOPLE caught up with the actress more recently while at the premiere of The Great World Pack: A Call to Adventure at Great Wolf Lodge this week, and during their chat, Fox admitted that she has yet to speak with her longtime friends about her previous comments. Despite her criticism, Fox insists that Smith “deserves a second chance” after decades of a blemish-free reputation.
“I think they’re just really going through a season of healing right now,” said Fox. “Listen, I love Will Smith. He’s one of my favorite people on the planet. We all make mistakes. If there’s one person that deserves a second chance, it is him. I think he’s taken full accountability for his actions and he apologized.”
“I just hope that we can all move forward from the incident and learned that it must never happen again, especially on that magnitude of a stage.”
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