‘King Richard’ star says he’s in ‘the process of perfecting my virtue’

Will Smith is opening up about the pitfalls of fame in his personal life.

At the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, the 55-year-old shared his feelings about fame in the wake of the “adversities of the last couple years.”

Per a video shared by Deadline on X, formerly Twitter, Smith said, “Fame is a unique monster. I’ve had to be really careful.”

He continued, “You can’t get excited when everybody is saying good things about you because the more you take when people are saying good things about you, the more hurt you’re going to be when people are saying bad things about you.”

Will Smith called fame “a unique monster” while speaking at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Saudi Arabia on Saturday. (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

The “Independence Day” star explained that recent “adversities” have prompted him to refocus his personal priorities.

“What I’ve experienced in my adversities of the last couple years is, I have to be clear about who I am and what I am attempting to do in the world. I can’t need others to applaud for me to stay focused on my mission,” the Oscar-winner said.

He added, “I have always wanted to put good into the world, I have always wanted to make people smile, I have always been devoted to the process of joy and inspiration, and I want you to feel good.”

The past few years have seen Smith face heavy criticism and backlash after he slapped presenter Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars after the comedian made fun of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s, shaved head.

Smith has faced public backlash over his Oscars slap as well as scrutiny over his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith. (ABC via Getty Images)

Earlier this year, the Smiths’ marriage faced intense scrutiny after Pinkett Smith revealed while promoting her memoir, “Worthy,” that the couple had in fact been separated since 2016.

Following the revelations, Smith sent an email to the New York Times, admitting that the book woke him up and writing that Pinket Smith had “lived a life more on the edge than he’d realized, and she is more resilient, clever and compassionate than he’d understood.”

“When you’ve been with someone for more than half of your life, a sort of emotional blindness sets in, and you can all too easily lose your sensitivity to their hidden nuances and subtle beauties,” he wrote at the time.

Smith says he is “deeply human” and “in the process of perfecting my virtue.” (Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images for The Red Sea International Film Festival)

Onstage at the festival, Smith admitted he’s working on himself, admitting he is “deeply human” and “in the process of perfecting my virtue.”

“I would say the greatest thing that has happened is I have been deeply humbled and deeply inspired to perfect my light, and that’s what this next phase of my life is going to be, perfecting and shining my light as brightly as I can on as many people as I can,” he said.