After Chris Rock made an offensive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's bald head, Will Smith notoriously smacked the comedian in the face live on stage at the 94th Annual Academy Awards. It was eventually decided that the actor from "Bad Boys" would not be allowed to attend any Academy ceremonies for the subsequent eleven years.
In a recent video interview, Will appeared to make a reference to the incident, as reported by RadarOnline. This comes at a time when Will is working hard to revitalize his music career and promote his most recent album.
Despite the fact that Will did not make any direct reference to the events that took place at the Academy Awards in 2022 in the video, which he starred in with the rapper Russ, who is featured in his new single, the two of them did talk about going through "trials and tribulations."
"It was really the first time in my life since childhood that I got the s—t kicked out of me. You know, I had a run of the gods. It’s like, it was really the first time experiencing what it’s like to get stomped,” the “Aladdin” actor stated without further specifying.
Earlier this month, Will Smith also disclosed in a mysterious manner that the phrase "Dance in Your Darkest Moments" was the theme of his most recent album. "Over the past couple of years I’ve had to learn a different way to be with adversity — a different way to face hard times,” he furthered.
In addition, Will revealed on Tuesday, July 23, on his Instagram account that he "found my new voice" as he was working on a song that was titled "Work of Art." "It’s how I want to sound and what I want to talk about. Before that, I had recorded about 20 tracks — a constellation of ideas of how I thought I needed to be. But Work of Art brought clarity — it revealed the fullness of who and what and how I truly,” he wrote.
There was a passage of the new song in which the actor from "I Am Legend" seemed to make a reference to the Oscars slap that was seen all around the world with the lyrics: "They tried to censor me / But then they sent for me / I am a saint, but if you touch, I am a savage."
Business Times has reached out to Will Smith for comments.
