We may never fully know what was going through Will Smith’s head when he slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. When comedian Chris Rock joked from onstage, “Jada, I love ya. G.I. Jane 2, can’t wait to see it,” he was referencing Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Pinkett Smith had been experiencing hair loss as a result of alopecia; however, Rock may not have been aware of her diagnosis. Regardless, Smith’s reaction to the remark was immediate and physical. That slap onstage wasn’t just a moment that shocked the world — it caused the complete and utter downfall of Smith as an actor, musician, celebrity, and family man. Sure, he won Best Actor for “King Richard” that night, but the victory was overshadowed by his actions.
Since then, the once incredibly bankable actor, who found success after “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” with big blockbuster hits like “Men in Black,” “Independence Day,” “I, Robot,” and “I Am Legend,” has struggled. His newer movies have flopped, his music comeback stalled, and many of his fans turned cold. While the Fresh Prince continues to work hard to regain his stardom, he’s not the same person he was before that regrettable night.
Will Smith’s reputation was in tatters following the slap
Following the Oscars incident, Smith resigned from the Academy and issued a statement. In it, he acknowledged, “My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable.” While Smith was able to keep his Best Actor trophy, he gave up his voting rights when resigning.
His resignation was accepted — but the Academy wasn’t done with him yet. As a result of his actions, he was banned from attending any Academy events for 10 years. Netflix wasn’t quick to forgive the actor, either. The streaming giant paused Smith’s thriller “Fast and Loose,” and the film’s director jumped ship for “Fall Guy” with Ryan Gosling at Universal. Even “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” stalled for a bit, too.
In addition to having his work impacted, Smith’s public image suffered greatly. Variety reported that his positive Q Score, a metric used to track how the public feels about celebrities, fell by nearly 40%. The steep drop indicated a significant decline in his popularity post-incident. In an effort to reverse that, Smith focused on repairing his image.
His apologies didn’t land the way he hoped
Four months after his public apology on Instagram, he took another swing at apologizing. This time he did so via video, which he shared to YouTube and Instagram. Sitting in a chair, he admitted that it was all a blur; however, he reached out to Chris, who he said wasn’t up to talking yet. Smith continued, saying, “So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable.” Will also clarified that Jada Pinkett Smith was not involved in his decision to slap Chris.
Then, in November 2022, Will sat down with Trevor Noah on “The Daily Show” and addressed the slap. “That was a horrific night, as you can imagine,” he said. He went on to add, “We just gotta be nice to each other, man. … Hurt people hurt people.” Although he’d addressed the incident multiple times at this point, his apology had nearly everyone saying the same thing: It didn’t seem authentic.
He failed to make a comeback with Emancipation
Almost nine months after Will Smith’s infamous slap at the Oscars, his first major project was released. “Emancipation,” a $120 million drama AppleTV+ snapped up before the slap drama unfolded, quietly hit a few theaters and streaming with a shrug from audiences and critics alike. The film barely made a dent at the box office, and the Golden Globes’ silence on the project only added salt to the wound.
While Smith may have hoped the film would help smooth over his rocky reputation, that’s not what happened. As one insider put it to Radar Online following the release, “Will knows it’s a long road to redemption and a lot of folks won’t forgive him. But this really rams it home.”
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes rated the film at 45%, whereas the audience placed it higher at 58%. To put those figures into perspective, look at “King Richard,” Smith’s previous project. It earned a 90% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, as well as an audience score of 98%.
Jada Pinkett Smith made their relationship status public
Jada Pinkett Smith dropped a truth bomb in October 2023 while promoting her book “Worthy.” In a very candid chat with Hoda Kotb on “Today,” she revealed that she and Will Smith had actually been separated since 2016. However, she insisted, “We are working very hard at bringing our relationship … back together.”
Remember the 2020 “Red Table Talk” episode in which Jada opened up about her “entanglement” with August Alsina? That was the first big hint something was off in the Smith household. Knowing they’d been apart since 2016, that makes that conversation feel very different.
Of the infamous slap moment, Jada revealed on the “Q with Tom Power” podcast, “It was so out of character and I was at a loss. I didn’t know what was happening. And so I just had to really ground myself and just pay attention. … I was as confused as everybody else” (via CBC).
Pinkett Smith’s interviews reopened old wounds for many, even if she tried to steer the conversation toward healing. It dragged the slap saga back into the headlines, letting the world know that the story wasn’t as simple as it seemed.
The fourth Bad Boys film was successful, but the slap wasn’t in hindsight
Will Smith went all-in to promote “Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” jetting around the world and smiling for every camera. But when the dust settled, the movie hadn’t quite put him back in good graces. Additionally, some reviews said it didn’t match the spark of the earlier “Bad Boys” entries.
One scene, however, did get people talking. During a tense moment, Mike Lowery (Will Smith) suffers a panic attack, terrified of losing those closest to him. Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) responds in the most Marcus way possible: by slapping him. Multiple times. The goal was to snap him out of it, bring back the bad boy, and finish the job. It seemed to be a nod to the Oscars incident, and while some thought the moment was clever, others felt it was a way of poking fun at his transgressions.
Although “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” made nearly $405 million at the box office, Smith’s slap was back in the headline.
Will Smith got churchy with it at the BET Awards in his first major appearance since the Oscars slap
After two years of keeping a relatively low profile, Will Smith stepped back into the awards show spotlight at the 2024 BET Awards, and he didn’t just show up — he brought a full-on gospel moment with him. Performing his new single “You Can Make It,” Smith rapped alongside Haitian-American artist Fridayy and the Sunday Service Choir in what was easily the most church-heavy hip-hop set of the night.
Released just two days earlier, the track played like a faith-driven pep talk: “The darker the hell you gotta endure / The brighter the heaven you get to enjoy / The harder the fall, the higher you soar / God opens a window when the devil closes the door.” It was Smith’s first major awards appearance since the 2022 Oscars slap, and while some fans welcomed the performance as a comeback moment, others questioned the timing and intention. Was the choir there for the music or to help polish up his public image?
Either way, the Oscar and Grammy winner sounded confident, leaning into the role of hip-hop’s “Fresh Preacher” as he worked the stage. For Smith, it wasn’t just a song. It was a statement. Whether you bought into the redemption arc or not, the man clearly knew how to make a return feel big.
The Fresh Prince returned with Based on a True Story
In 2025, Will Smith dropped news of his first album in two decades, “Based on a True Story,” which released on 28 March, marking a major step in his comeback to music. “Been working on this project for a minute and I’m itchin’ to get it out to y’all,” he wrote on Instagram, along with a track list stacked with features from Teyana Taylor, Jaden Smith, Jazzy Jeff, and more.
By the time of its release, fans had already heard a few singles, including “Beautiful Scars” with Big Sean and OBanga, “Tantrum” with Joyner Lucas, “Work of Art” with Jaden Smith and Russ, and the gospel-inspired “You Can Make It.” On “Beautiful Scars,” Smith didn’t shy away from addressing the Oscars night, rapping: “I hate when I lose it, but I face the music / ‘Oh, why did he do it?’ See, I’m only human.”
Unfortunately for Smith, though, “Based on a True Story” failed to achieve the success of his past albums. The album received mostly mixed to negative reviews from critics and fans alike. Tara Joshi of The Independent awarded the album 2 out of 5 stars, feeling it lacked innovation. “It seems fair for Smith to want to exorcise the past few years, unpacking his perceived mistreatment by both the press and the public,” she wrote. “It’s just a shame that he’s chosen to do it with quasi-inspirational songs that don’t bang.”
Will started rebranding himself online, encouraging spirituality and self-healing
Following the slap, Will Smith’s online presence began to change. He was not the blockbuster star you used to know, but a wiser teacher. His new angle was spirituality, self-healing, and the hard work it takes to find yourself. Will’s motivational videos don’t just push vague positivity — they lean into the belief that you can attract what you want if you ask for it.
In a YouTube chat with rapper Lecrae, Smith admitted, “It is terrifying to dissolve parts of your previous image.” Later, he explained, “I think that is the top human skill set: a willingness to die. A willingness to let go — that thing’s not serving you anymore.”
Smith hasn’t kept his spiritual journey a secret over the years. His social media posts and interviews include reflections on the Bhagavad Gita, in which he draws parallels between Arjuna’s battle and his own quest for self-discovery.
Will Smith’s viral moment in London sparked speculation of a midlife crisis
Will Smith’s surprise performance at London’s King’s Cross Station on June 2025 started as a promotional push for his new album and ended as an internet talking point that had people questioning his health, his energy, and even his mental well-being.
Dressed in an eye-catching red and white outfit, the 56-year-old jumped in with local DJ AG Online for an impromptu set. Clips posted to social media showed Smith looking winded, with his delivery strained and his audience … not exactly dancing in the aisles. “Does Will sound healthy?” one user asked.
The timing didn’t help. For years, Smith’s relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith had been under a microscope. One commenter went so far as to suggest that Will was doing all this in hopes of getting the attention of his wife again.
Pinkett Smith, whose “Red Table Talk” ended in December 2022, has kept a low profile. Previously, the couple were last seen together in November in Calabasas, leaving fans to wonder if Smith’s street performance was less about selling a track and more about sending a message.
Will Smith dropped a cringe-worthy freestyle fans call one of his most embarrassing moments yet
In June 2025, Will Smith found himself back in the viral spotlight, but not for reasons he probably wanted. His freestyle on Lyrical Lemonade TV stirred up a wave of reactions – and not the good kind. Fans didn’t hold back, calling the performance awkward and cringeworthy. The guy who once dominated the ’90s hip-hop scene with hits like “Summertime” suddenly looked like a far cry from his Fresh Prince days.
Social media quickly lit up with clips of the freestyle, and reaction videos popped up calling out everything from his flow to his energy. One YouTube commenter didn’t mince words, saying, “He praps] like an undercover cop.” Another chimed in with, “Will Smith on a self sabotage speedrun.” Ouch.
If you grew up vibing to Smith’s early music, this moment might’ve been tough to watch. It raised the question: What happens when a legend tries to make a comeback but ends up reminding everyone how much time has passed?
Will is still picking up the pieces of his career and revisiting the slap
As of this writing, Will Smith is still transforming, attempting to fully bounce back from the infamous slap. While he may hope this comes from “Fast and Loose,” the film seems to be off to a rough start already. Filmmaker Michael Bay left over “creative differences” with the “Fresh Prince” star, The Hollywood Reporter revealed in August 2025. And if he’s hoping for acolades in the music industry, well, the success — or lack thereof — of “Based on a True Story” likely hasn’t bolstered his confidence.
While Smith preached to rapper Lecrae that he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone but himself, his stumbles on social media and in public make us wonder if he’s really taking that advice to heart. Sometimes the hardest person to convince is yourself, after all.
Looking back at the slap while speaking to BBC Radio 1Xtra, Will dubbed the moment “brutiful” (brutal but beautiful). We’ve seen the brutal part. Now it’s time for the beautiful to kick in.
