Will Smith may be banned from the Oscars until 2032, but the Best Actor winner isn’t slowing down any time soon.
The “King Richard” star made history at the 2022 Oscars by slapping host Chris Rock on stage after a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Rock spoke about Smith’s attack, clarifying that he does not consider himself a “victim” but was “hurt” by Smith’s actions.
While Smith later apologized to Rock and called the entire evening a “blur” on his memory, Hollywood remained divided over whether Smith’s behavior could drive him out of the industry as a whole. There were rumors that Apple TV+ would delay the release of Antoine Fuqua’s slave biopic “Emancipation” after the Oscars, and that Netflix had halted development on several Smith-fronted films. However, “Emancipation” was finally released in late 2022 – albeit with little fanfare.
“I totally get it — if someone’s not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them to not have their space ready,” Smith said while promoting “Emancipation,” which hits theaters in December 2022. “My biggest concern is that as a team – Antoine has done what I think is the greatest job of his entire career.”
Smith continued: “The members of the team have done the best work of their careers and my deepest hope is that my actions do not penalize my team. That’s what I’m working on right now. I hope that the material—the power of the film, the timeliness of the story—I hope that the good that can be done at least opens people’s hearts to see, recognize, and support the incredible artists here and there. this film.”
And Smith has plenty more movies in the pipeline, from “Bad Boys 4” to “I Am Legend 2.” Keep scrolling to see all of Smith’s upcoming projects one year after his ‘Oscar slap’.
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