Will Smith Has Something To Say About People NOT Watching His New Movie Due To Oscars Slap

Grammy and Oscar-winning actor Will Smith revealed that he understands if people are still offended by his Oscar incident and boycott his recent film "Emancipation." During this year's iteration of the Oscars, the actor got into a physical altercation with Chris Rock after the comedian made fun of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

After the incident, the "Bright" actor faced a lot of criticism from both celebrities and fans and lost out on a number of deals. His film "Bad Boys 4" was reportedly shelved in addition to other projects he was working on at the time.

Will tendered apologies to Rock and the public several times and took some time off to focus on himself. "Emancipation" is his first film since the incident. According to the actor, it is entirely understandable if people decide not to watch the movie due to the infamous Oscars fiasco.

Read on to learn more.

Will's newest film, "Emancipation," will be released to theaters on December 2, and the actor has a few words to say to people feeling conflicted about watching it. The film is set during the era of slavery and features the actor as a slave named Peter.

During an interview with FOX 5's "Good Day DC," Kevin McCarthy spoke to the actor and asked what he would say to people who felt like watching him on screen felt "too soon" or weren't ready yet. Will explained that he understands and respects whatever their opinions may be.

The actor said, "I completely understand that if someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready."

Further on, Will said that he felt deeply concerned about his involvement in the film and if it could damage the reputations of his collaborators. He also said that he was worried it would negatively affect their chances of possible Oscar recognition for their efforts in the movie.

Will spoke about the director of "Emancipation," Antoine Fuqua, also known for his work in Oscar-winning "Training Day" as well as "The Magnificent Seven," and "The Equalizer" movies. He claimed that with this movie, Antoine achieved "what I think is the greatest work of his career."

The actor also mentioned his costars in the film, Ben Foster and Charmaine Bingwa, and praised them for their efforts. The film's cinematographer Robert Richardson as well as its costume designers, Naomi Shohan and Francine Jamison-Tanchuck, also got a shoutout.

"The people on this team have done some of the best work of their entire careers, and my deepest hope is that my actions don't penalize my team," Will said.

Will further revealed that he hopes the film's "material" and "the timeliness of the story" would be the point of focus rather than him. "I'm hoping that the good that can be done would open people's hearts at a minimum to see and recognize and support the incredible artists in and around this film," the actor said.

A week after "Emancipation" December 2 theater release, the film will be available on Apple TV+. In the historical thriller, the "Fresh Prince" actor will play Peter, who braves treacherous territory after his escape from the Louisiana plantation to reach the Union territory up north. There, he joined the opposition to fight against the Confederacy.

The movie was inspired by the life and experiences of a formerly enslaved person who, according to horrifying images of his back, suffered repeated intense whippings. After Will's Oscar slap incident, Variety reported that Apple contemplated delaying the film's release until 2023 to allow the controversy to die down.

The director of "Emancipation," Antoine Fuqua, spoke to Vanity Fair earlier this month about Will and how much the actor had changed while filming the movie. In response to the controversies surrounding him, Fuqua talked about the film's subject matter and how much more important it was than Will's incident.

"My conversation was always, 'Isn't 400 years of slavery, of brutality, more important than one bad moment?' We were in Hollywood, and there's been some really ugly things that have taken place, and we've seen a lot of people get awards that have done some really nasty things," the director said.

Fuqua further revealed that Will was really kind to people on the set of "Emancipation" despite playing a character who was "brutalized and called the N-word every day" for months.

"He was kind to everyone on the set," he added. "We had certain extras that were the dead bodies in the graves, and he would go give them money for laying there in that heat over 100 degrees." Fuqua called Will a "good man" and said he hoped people could forgive the actor and move forward from the incident.