Will Smith Says Police Have Referred To Him Using Racial Slurs ‘On More Than 10 Occasions’

Will Smith shared his personal experience with police during an interview with political commentator, Angela Rye, on Monday.

“I’ve been called (racial slurs) by the cops in Philly on more than 10 occasions,” Smith said. “I got stopped frequently. So I understand what it’s like to be in those circumstances with the police.”

Smith also shared that he holds an interesting perspective on racial disparity because he went to Catholic school in the suburbs.

“White kids were happy when the cops showed up and my heart always started pounding. People who don’t grow up in that, you just can’t comprehend what it feels like to feel like you live in an occupied territory,” Smith said.

Smith also discussed his rage about racial disparities and said he’s been working “really hard” on controlling it. “Rage is justified under oppression. It can also be really dangerous. You’ve got to be careful not to be consumed by your own rage,” he said.

When asked about the current global attitude on race relations Smith said, “We are in a circumstance that we’ve never been in before. … The entire globe has stood up and said to the African-American people, ‘We see you and we hear you. How can we help?’ We’ve never been there before.”

He then went on to discuss the Black Lives Matter movement. “Something as simple as ‘Black Lives Matter’ – what’s the (expletive) point of contention? Right? The point of contention is that’s not what the person is hearing. That’s where communication rules come in very handy. Here’s what the answer is when someone says, ‘Black lives matter’: Yes, I agree.”