New York – A Jewish group said Wednesday that it accepts Will Smith’s explanation that he never praised Adolf Hitler in remarks the star says were misinterpreted.
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“We welcome and accept Will Smith’s statement that Hitler was a `vicious killer’ and that he did not mean for his remarks about the Nazi leader to be mistaken as praise,” Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement.
Smith “took immediate steps to clarify his words” and condemn Hitler, Foxman said.
Foxman said words “can be twisted by those with hate and bigotry in their hearts.”
“This is why all celebrities bear a special responsibility to weigh their words carefully, and an obligation to speak out against racism and bigotry whenever even a whiff of it appears, as Will Smith has done in this instance,” he said. [ap]