Producer of the 94th Annual Academy Awards, Will Packer, has now spoken out in support of Will Smith following the actor’s recent apology for hitting comedian Chris Rock during the event. Smith has now been banned from attending the Oscars for the next decade, but speaking with ET, Packer praised the actor for his transparency before adding “I'm pulling for him.”

"I love the fact that he's being so transparent about his process. He is being very public and honest and open about his remorse."

Packer referred to Smith’s long-standing position in the industry before stating that he felt the version of Will Smith who slapped Chris Rock is not the same Will Smith that audiences have enjoyed on screen for more than thirty years.

"I think that he's got three decades in this business of being somebody that is the exact opposite of who he was in those few seconds, and so I'm pulling for him.”

Packer, who has received widespread criticism for the way that the incident between Smith and Rock was handled during the Academy Awards in March, added that Smith is clearly “going through his own personal rehabilitation," saying “I’m pulling for him to continue his own process, but I think this is for him. He needs to do it."

It’s unlikely that anyone needs to be informed of what happened during the 94th Annual Academy Awards, but just in case you’ve been living on Mars in a cave with your eyes shut and your fingers in yours ears, the now Academy Award winner Will Smith took to the stage and struck Chris Rock across the face after the comedian made a joke at Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith's expense. Now known as “the slap heard around the world,” Smith has been trying ever since to claw back his public image.

Will Smith Has Now Apologized to Chris Rock

Smith recently took to YouTube to issue an apology to Chris Rock, with the actor answering a question from a fan which asked why he did not apologize to the comedian during his Best Actor Oscar acceptance speech.

“I was fogged out by that point. It is all fuzzy,” the actor begins. “I’ve reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that, he’s not ready to talk. When he is, he will reach out. I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable and I am here whenever you are ready to talk. I want to apologize to Chris’s mother. I saw an interview [she] did, and that was one of the things I just didn’t realize.”

He continued saying, “I wasn’t thinking, but how many people got hurt in that moment. I want to apologize to Chris’ mother, I want to apologize to Chris’s family, specifically Tony Rock. We had a great relationship. Tony Rock was my man. This is probably irreparable. I spent the last three months replaying an understanding the nuance and complexity of what happened in that moment. I’m not going to try to unpack all of that right now, but I can say to all of you, there is no part of me that thinks that was the right way to behave in that moment. No part of me that thinks that is the optimal way to handle a feeling of disrespect or insult.”

While Rock has not addressed the apology specifically, he has since addressed the incident. In the sort of way that only Chris Rock can.