Everyone and their mother (including us) has weighed in on the Perez altercation that went down on Sunday after the Much Music Awards, except Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.

Well, Will has finally released a statement — rather than addressing specifics of that night, he took the higher road and urges respect for others. Clearly, a concept Perez has never grasped. Read Will’s full statement after the cut.

I will not continue to comment specifically on the incident that happened in Toronto last weekend… But I would hate for my silence to be misconstrued… I do not condone harassment or violence of any kind…

No one deserves physical abuse…
And no one deserves verbal abuse…
No one deserves that…

Everyone needs to be respected…
And no ones name should be slandered in the name of hate and disrespect…
And fyi…”not every black man is a thug”…

As far as character allegations made against myself,
The members of the Black Eyed Peas,
And members of our management…
I believe that the truth will speak for itself once the details of the events are fully presented.

Hateful slurs…
Racial or gay should not be used as verbal weapons to provoke violence…

Let us all learn from the events that happened in Toronto…
That situation has already taken valuable time, energy,
And attention away from more important,
And in some cases, devastating issues happening in our world.
Thank you…
will.i.am