Will Smith is not over the 2022 Oscars, and fans will have to hear about it. The rapper, 56, is facing mounting claims that he is in the midst of a midlife crisis that has him harping on the past on wax.
He relaunched his music career this year with a new album, “Based On A True Story,” and as a result he’s been getting a few thoughts off of his chest.
One in particular seems to be about Smith infamously slapping Chris Rock three years ago. In a recent episode of Apple Music’s “Fire in the Booth” series, the actor once again took aim at his industry peers.
In the freestyle, Smith rapped, “Now I’m not the type of man to move in malicious ways, and I ain’t too grown to play childish games/ But if you talking crazy out your face up on the stage and disrespect me on the stage, expect me on the stage/ Joker dish it out, cry foul when it’s time to take it.”
Weeks earlier on his album track, “Int. Barbershop Day,” he rapped, “Will Smith is cancelled, You can’t cancel no icon.” Later in the song he says, “Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talking ’bout? You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth You’re talking ****, but if he came right now You’d be like, “Come in, Mr. Smith, would you please sit down?” Hell nah, I’d be like, “Come get a fade ‘Cause all your haircuts I seen on the big screen been lame.”
Rock reportedly was not fond of Smith referring to the moment he took an open-handed blow to the face at the awards ceremony after a joke comparing Jada Pinkett Smith, 53, to “G.I. Jane” due to her bald appearance. The actress had a shaved head at the time.
Smith still won Best Actor for his role in “King Richard” minutes after the assault. Soon afterward, he received a 10-year ban from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences events and resigned from the organization.
The Oscar winning actor also issued a public apology to Rock months after the incident. However, the slap resurfacing now has provoked mixed reactions. For starters, a person shared, “Somebody better check on Unc. This is him spiraling out of control.”
A second hot take read, “I told y’all Will DID NOT mean that apology. They made him do that. He had too many family movies coming out at the time. Chris had been picking at them for YEARSSS. I always said Will would do it again if he had the chance.”
Two others added, “I knew that apology was bogus,” and “So will DIDN’T mean the apology to Chris rock ..got it.”
August Alsina appears to allude to his alleged relationship ending w Jada Pinkett-Smith. pic.twitter.com/GJhoqbQiVn
— theJasmineBRAND (@thejasminebrand) June 30, 2020
A fourth noted, “So he feels Chris disrespected him by joking on Jada so he took to the stage. Will has lost it.”
Chris Rock and the Smiths have shared a decades-long connection, collaborating on various TV shows and films over the years. From days appearing on the 90’s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” to more recent appearances, both actors have also been seen enjoying each other’s company off-screen, reflecting a long-standing professional and personal rapport. Rock and Jada have also voiced characters together in the film franchise, “Madagascar.”
One commenter questioned why Smith had smoke for Rock but none for the man who once had an intimate relationship with his wife, writing, “A man young enough to be your son … if not on stage, in bars on a song?”
Jada admitted to having an “entanglement” with singer August Alsina in a 2020 episode of “The Red Table Talk” after years of speculation and rumors.
Two years ago, in 2023, the “Low Down Dirty Shame” actress revealed that she and Will have been separated since 2016 —the same year that she reportedly began dating the then-23-year-old. The estranged couple has not divorced but they continue to live separate lives as rumors run wild.
