*Tatyana Ali praised her “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” co-star Will Smith while at Variety’s Power of Women luncheon in New York this week.
“He’s a beautiful person who has done so much good,” she told Page Six.
Ali, 44, didn’t want to speak about Smith slapping Chris Rock onstage at the Oscars last year.
“I don’t want to talk about it because he is somebody who is very close to me and it’s hurtful,” she added.
READ MORE: Will Smith ‘Still Remorseful’ for Slapping Chris Rock at Oscars
Last month it was reported that Smith has “tried unsuccessfully” to make amends with Rock after slapping him at the 94th Academy Awards.
A source tells PEOPLE that Smith has “felt terrible for so long” about the incident. “He’s tried unsuccessfully to make amends in the best way he could with Chris,” adds the source.
The tea spiller claims Smith “leaned” on his family in the aftermath of the assault, saying their support “has helped him look inside and mature. He is better but still remorseful.”
“Will listened to those who tried to help him and feels that he has become a better person,” the source added.
Rock addressed the slap in his new Netflix comedy special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage. In it, the comedian makes clear that he is “not a victim, baby; you’ll never see me on Oprah or Gayle, crying. You will never see it. Never gonna happen,” he said.
As PEOPLE reports, Rock joked that he got “smacked by Suge Smith.”
“I got smacked at the f—ing Oscars by this m—-f—er. And people are like, ‘Did it hurt?’ It still hurts!” said Rock.
He also took aim at Smith’s marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith by subtly mocking her “entanglement” with singer August Alsina.
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