The actor Will Smith has received today the beacon award of the African American Film Critics Association. It is the first public recognition of him since a year ago he was hit by the famous slap to Chris Rockat the Oscars ceremony.
We all know the story, so we don’t need to go on too long. In the middle of the Oscars ceremony, Will Smith did not like a joke that the presenter Chris Rock he did about his wife, so he went up on stage and slapped her.
Despite the attack, Smith was not expelled, and went on stage to collect his Oscar for best actor, without apologizing to Rock. He did it a day later, but Chris Rock still hasn’t forgiven him. He spoiled the time of his life.
The film academy expelled him from the association for a period of 10 years. He has also frozen several movies that he was shooting.
will smith redemption
Will Smith he has tried to apologize several times, including on YouTube. There is division of opinion on the subject.
Who immediately forgave was Applewhich last fall was the first to premiere a film starring Will Smith: Towards Freedom (Emancipation).
to freedom tells the true story of Gordonnicknamed Scourged Peter or Peter the Whipped. He was a black slave who was nearly flogged to death on a Louisiana plantation. He managed to escape and joined the Union Army during the American Civil War.
the photos of the back of Scourged Peter They were published in 1863, and were key to the mobilization during the American Civil War, which ended slavery. The photograph of Gordon’s back continues to impact 159 years later:
Directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by William N. Collage, emancipation stars Will Smith as Scourged Peter, and Ben Foster. You can watch the trailer here:
Manzana seized the distribution rights to the film by paying 130 million dollars, and it premiered a long time ago on Apple TV +.
The movie sounded for the oscars, even Will Smith himself (although he could not be nominated), but little by little he has been deflating. Despite this, Will Smith has received today the beacon award of the African American Film Critics Association.
Will Smith He has gone up on stage to pick it up, and he has not been shy: the speech lasted almost 7 minutes. Well, listen to it in this Variety recording:
The actor has not spoken about the slap. It has been a professional speech where he has only mentioned his work in the film Towards Freedom. He has said that “It has been the most difficult movie of my entire life“.
He has also had a special thanks to Apple: “I want to thank Apple, because budget was one thing. And then the budget was something else. And then the budget was something else. And Apple didn’t flinch. It was the first time I had heard a studio say that the story was more important than how much it cost to make it… They make iPhones. They can do it“.
Gala attendees applauded Will Smith and laughed at his jokes. So it seems that, at least part of the industry, has forgiven him. The first prize to Will Smith behind the slap to Chris Rock It has been possible because this event has not been organized by the Film Academy, which, as we have said, has expelled it for 10 years.