After a series of brief statements online and months of public silence, Will Smith is back in the spotlight to promote his new film Emancipation, which will be released in early December.
In an interview with The Daily Show With Trevor Noah, Smith promoted the premiere of his new movie. There, he didn’t shy away from questions about the media silence that followed the Oscar ceremony, where he slapped comedian Chris Rock.
“It was a terrifying night, as you can imagine. It was complex and nuanced. But after everything that happened, I have to admit I lost control,” commented Smith.
“You never know what’s going through a person’s mind. Someone might have lost their mother, someone might have found out their partner is cheating on them. I was going through something difficult that night too. I learned that we need to be kinder with each other for another because life is hard. But what hurts me the most is that my actions have affected other people,” Will Smith told host Trevor Noah.
The actor doesn’t want to justify his reaction and even less wants to argue with people convinced that his positive and spiritual image is just a mask to hide his aggressive nature.
But to be fair to himself and Trevor Noah, Smith points out that he’s someone who’s always been afraid of conflict. For this reason, over the years, he has given space to a lot of jokes aimed at his family. But on Oscar night, he followed his own impulse to stand up and defend them.
“I guess the repressed child in me who watched his father beat his mother came to the surface. It was anger that had been repressed for years. I stood up for the wrong thing at the wrong time. But that’s not who I am, and who I want to be.” , the actor is emphatic.
The slap that reverberated through Hollywood.
Smith is also aware that it will be difficult for audiences to swallow his spontaneous outburst of anger after comedian Chris Rock makes a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. And audiences who refuse to see his new film “Emancipation” because of what happened at the Oscars will understand.
In another interview – with Fox 5, the actor said he hopes the repercussions of his behavior won’t be carried over to his latest film crew.
“I am very concerned about the people behind this project. Antoine (note line Antoine Fuqua, the director of “Emancipation”) created the best film of his career. The rest of the team did the best of him. I hope they don’t get punished for what I did,” the actor says.
Smith adds that he was also impressed by the story of “Emancipation,” which presents itself not as another black slave film, but as a film about freedom.
“Emancipation” will tell the true story of the dark-skinned slave Gordon, also known as Whipped Peter. His popular photos of him in 1823 with whip scars on his back became the impetus for the abolitionist movement in the United States.
The film was supposed to release on the streaming platform Apple TV+ in May of this year, but due to the widespread negative response after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, the premiere of ‘Emancipation’ has been postponed to December 9th.
The producers of the historical drama did not want its release on the streaming channel to interfere with the letter from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, announcing the termination of Will Smith’s membership for a period of 10 years.
In November, “Emancipation” director Antoine Fuqua added that there had been talks of “not releasing the film at all,” but Apple had backed the tape, insisting it be released but “very carefully.”
“My position was: Isn’t 400 years of slavery and brutality more important than a bad time? We are in Hollywood, but somewhere in the world this bad violence still exists. There are people who go through some really disgusting things. I think Apple has took my words to heart, and I’m very grateful for that,” Fuqua told Vanity Fair.
Smith himself also points to the fact that what happened to his character Whipped Peter (“Whipped Peter”) is much more significant than the consequences he suffered after his aggressive act at the Oscars.
“When I saw the photos [на Whipped Peter] for the first time, I got really excited. I wanted to investigate his story, find out who this man was and what happened to him. American slavery was one of the most brutal aspects of human history. It’s hard to understand what could lead a person to that level of cruelty. But I promise you this is not primarily a film about slaves, but a film about freedom,” Smith points out.
The first trailer for “Emancipation” was released in early October and its footage shows that the story will be told through a much more creative prism than traditional tapes about slavery in the United States.
Fuqua chose a black and white filter for shots and used sound effects as a parallel character in the story.
Will Smith’s performance in the lead role is also impressive, and after the trailer was released, many people on social networks started joking that if he was nominated for an Oscar, he would be the first actor not to attend the ceremony.
