- Actor Will Smith is supporting tennis star Naomi Osaka.
- Osaka dropped out of the French Open, citing concerns for her mental well-being.
- Smith posted a message to Instagram saying "you are right, they are wrong."
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Actor Will Smith expressed his support for tennis star Naomi Osaka on Thursday after she withdrew from the French Open.
Osaka dropped out of the French Open on Monday after announcing she wouldn't attend post-match press conferences because of her anxiety.
Smith posted a short handwritten message to Osaka on Instagram, reminding her and his followers that she is in the right in the situation
"Hey Naomi, you are right. They are wrong! I am with you." Smith wrote.
Osaka had been fined $15,000 for skipping a press conference at the tournament, said in her resignation that she experienced bouts of depression and got "huge waves of anxiety" before speaking with the media.
"I think now the best thing for the tournament, the other players and my well-being is that I withdraw so that everyone can get back to focusing on the tennis going on in Paris," Osaka said in a statement on May 31. "I never wanted to be a distraction and I accept that my timing was not ideal and my message could have been clearer.
"More importantly I would never trivialize mental health or use the term lightly. The truth is that I have suffered long bouts of depression since the US Open in 2018 and I have had a really hard time coping with that."
Several star athletes have come to Osaka's defense after her decision, including fellow tennis star Serena Williams, and Olympic champion swimmer Michael Phelps.
However, several other figures have critisized Osaka for her decision, including British journalist Piers Morgan and the French Open organizers.