Williams admitted that the incident overshadowed some other important moments, including when Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor.

Serena Williams recently sat down with Gayle King and reflected on her legendary tennis career and retirement. According to Entertainment Tonight, she also talked to King on CBS This Morning about when Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards in 2022.

Williams admitted that the incident overshadowed some other important moments, including when Smith won the Oscar for Best Actor for portraying Williams’ father, Richard Williams, in King Richard. However, speaking of Smith—Serena noted, “we’re all human.”

“I thought it was such an incredible film and I feel that there was an incredible film after that with Questlove that kind of was overshadowed,” said Williams in reference to when Rock presented the Academy Award for Best Documentary which ultimately went to Questlove for Summer of Soul.

“But I also feel that I’ve been in a position where I’ve been under a lot of pressure and made a tremendous amount of mistakes, and I’m the kind of person that’s just like, ‘I’ve been there. I’ve made a mistake. It’s not the end of the world.’ We’re all imperfect and we’re all human and let’s just be kind to each other. So, that’s often forgotten a lot.”

The fallout from the incident was swift-Smith stepped down as a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has been banned from Academy events for 10 years. However, his career appears to be rebounding. He and Martin Lawrence recently announced that they are about to start filming Bad Boys 4.

Serena Williams also shared with King that since her retirement, she has been working on funding Serena Ventures—her venture capital fund, which will support women-owned businesses. She is also trying to give her 5-year-old daughter, Olympia, a big sister.

Of her life after tennis, Williams told King, “I’ve literally given my whole life to tennis. And it’s time for me to give my life to something else.”