The Twitterverse, once again, has targeted the wrong Will Smith.
Will Smith, the famous actor who slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars this year, issued a new apology Friday for his behavior at the awards show, revealing that Rock is “not ready to talk.”
Whereupon the owner of the verified Twitter @willsmith account braced for a new onslaught of attacks, attaboys, hot takes and other misdirected commentary, as has happened routinely over the years (even though his Twitter profile pic is of a white guy with a ginger beard).
Note: The actor Will Smith does not have an official Twitter account; he posted his apology video Friday to YouTube and Instagram. The Twitter @willsmith account belongs to a man by the same same who is a podcaster and PR rep for independent game studio Stray Bombay.
On Friday, game-industry Will Smith again tried to clear up matters — possibly to no avail — and said he had to turn off direct messages on Twitter following what one presumes were scores of vitriolic texts delivered to notthatwillsmith (as he points out in his bio).
“Just want to make it clear to everyone that I’m apologizing for nothing. Also, I had to close my DMs,” gamer guy Will Smith tweeted.
Just want to make it clear to everyone that I’m apologizing for nothing.
Also, I had to close my DMs.
— Will Smith (@willsmith) July 29, 2022
The Case of the Wrong Will Smith hit a peak during the 94th Academy Awards in March, after the actor Will Smith smacked Rock, who had made a joke at the expense of Jada Pinkett Smith, on live TV.
Following the slap, @willsmith tweeted: “Real talk, I’m not the person you’re upset/happy with. I make podcasts and video games for a living. At the risk of making people pissed off at me instead of that other guy, the world would be a better place if we stopped answering words with violence.”