A man who shares the same name as Will Smith, and is verified on Twitter, has been the target of abuse on the social media platform since Sunday evening as users continue to mistake him for the King Richard actor.
Hollywood’s Will Smith was embroiled in controversy on Sunday after he walked on stage during Chris Rock’s monologue and slapped him across the face after the comedian made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith’s shaved head.
As he returned to his chair, Smith could be heard yelling: “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!”
Pinkett-Smith has been vocal about her struggles with alopecia – an inflammatory condition that causes excessive hair loss.
Smith, who won first Oscar on Sunday for his portrayal of Richard Williams, has since publicly apologised to Rock, writing in a statement on Monday that his behaviour was “unacceptable and inexcusable”.
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he said in an Instagram post.
“I would like to publicly apologise to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Those upset by Sunday night’s events have been voicing their criticisms of Smith on Twitter.
Unfortunately, the actor does not appear to have a verified Twitter account, and social media users have been levelling their comments at a non-famous man who shares his name.
Will Smith, a podcast host who works in communications for video game developer Stray Bombay, wrote in a tweet on Sunday: “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.”
Non-famous Will Smith seems to be taking the mix-up in his stride, telling one user who asked how he was coping with the onslaught of tweets: “It’s fine. I only see the responses from people who follow me, so it’s still pretty minor.”
He has also gained more than 100,000 new followers since the incident. Prior to Sunday evening, he had less than 140,000 followers, and now has more than 240,000.
Smith also shared how he managed to secure his verified Twitter handle despite having the same name as one of Hollywood’s most famous figures, revealing that he made his account in 2007 after meeting one of the founders at the South by Southwest conference.
