Despite the Oscars slap controversy, Will Smith will always have a supporter in his friend Floyd Mayweather, who called the King Richard star “every day” with words of encouragement when nearly all of Hollywood turned its back on him.

In a video from a private screening of his upcoming film Emancipation, obtained by TMZ, Smith recalls the supportive conversations he had with Mayweather following his Oscars debacle earlier this year.

“The day after the Oscars, for 10 days he called me every day,” said Smith, who pointed to Mayweather in the audience. “And he was like, ‘Ay, you know you the champ, right? You good? You know you the champ, right? I want you to hear my voice say it.’”

Smith concluded, “That was every day he called me. … And it’s like, that’s my dude forever right there.”

As Oscars viewers know, Smith faced intense backlash this past March when he walked on stage and slapped Chris Rock for joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald appearance. The incident, which was broadcast live around the world, has left an unmissable stain on Smith’s decorated career as much of Hollywood lambasted the actor for his violent reaction.

Months later, in July, the “Men in Black” actor released a video via Instagram in which he expressed his regret and issued a public apology to Rock. “I’ve reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is that he’s not ready to talk,” Smith said. “And when he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris: I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable, and I’m here whenever you’re ready to talk.”

As of yet, Rock has not formally accepted Smith’s apology — and he isn’t alone.

As previously reported by REVOLT, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith had desired to have Smith portray him in a potential biopic of his own life based on his forthcoming memoir. But that was before the slap. “D**mit, it would’ve been Will Smith before the slap,” Stephen said in a recent podcast appearance. “But I can’t go with him now. I can’t go with him.”

Watch the video below.