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Will Smith advocates “cleaning” America of Trump supporters, saying: “We’re starting to understand who people are and now we’re going to cleanse that from our country.”
Just before his comments above, Smith was talking about a “purification” that occurs through honest dialogue. He likens the vitriol of addressing Islamophobia in America to a marriage counseling session, where a couple airs their darkest thoughts to a point where they can “understand” and “advance our relationship.”
A 2016 commentary by actor Will Smith went viral for allegedly calling for a “purge” of Trump supporters from the US Meeting The Expendables movie, August 2016, after being asked by a reporter for his comment on Islamophobia in America
At the time, Trump’s presidential campaign was underway, during which Trump used anti muslim rhetoric And propose policies targeting the Muslim community.
In April 2023, a Twitter user shared a video of some of Smith’s comments, writing, “Disgraced actor Will Smith preaches genocide against Republicans.” The video was titled “Will Smith: ‘Clear America’s Trump supporters!’”
In the clip, Smith says, “As much as it hurts to hear Donald Trump, and it’s embarrassing as an American to hear him, I think it’s good. We’re starting to understand who people are, and now we’re starting to cleanse it left our country.”
However, his words were taken out of context and distorted. Smith did not advocate genocide, nor did he call for the cleansing of Americans of Trump supporters.
As can be seen in the full video of the interview, Smith was asked the following question: “As a public figure, you came to the Middle East from America during the time of Islamophobia and there was a lot of turmoil going on in the region. What’s so important about seeing it from the outside? People, what kind of message do you have, what can you convey there?”
In the Facebook video below, Smith begins answering questions in the 38th minute:
“Showing up is important,” Smith said. “It’s like, I’m in Dubai, I’m having fun, I’m tweeting, I’m showing pictures: ‘Hey! Looks like they don’t hate me, do they?’ I think the imagery of it is for me Very important.”
He then goes on to talk about actual Islamophobia that is prevalent in America, comparing the vitriol to feelings that come up in marriage counseling sessions (emphasis ours):
[…] I’m very, very confident that what we’re seeing in the U.S. right now is a purge that things are surfacing.I think about it from the perspective of marriage counseling […] What happens in a marriage once you have counseling and the truth is out.You sit across from your wife and you tell all your truths and she tells all hers and you look at each other and you can’t imagine that you could be in love again […] It creates a dark moment, but for me it’s the darkness before the dawn, when the truth comes out and people have to stand up and say who they are and what they think, and then you know who they are. I think that’s the clearing before we get to the other side, that’s the understanding, that’s moving forward in our relationship.
It’s painful to listen to Donald Trump, it’s embarrassing to listen to as an American, but I think it’s fine. We’re starting to understand who people are, and now we’re starting to weed them out of our country.
Ultimately, Smith uses the term “purification” to refer to a form of truth-telling, a conversation in which both parties come to understand each other’s grievances and move forward in the relationship. The full text of his comments shows that he is not advocating the “genocide of Republicans” or the “purge of Trump supporters” in the United States
Therefore, we rate this statement as “False”.
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