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Call it unpleasant timing or bad karma, Will Smith's career graph seems to be going downhill after his shocking altercation with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars held on Sunday, March 27, 2022. The actor has now lost two back-to-back movies after the Oscars debacle: Netflix's Fast and Loose and Sony's Bad Boys 4.
In an unfortunate incident that took away prestigious recognition from celebrities, Will Smith took to the Oscars stage and slapped Chris Rock over the latter's joke on the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Many celebrities have come out in support of Rock, condemning Smith's actions.
When the Academy asked Will Smith to leave the award show right after the incident, he refused. He then went on to win the Best Actor award for his character in King Richard and apologized to the audience and the Academy for his behavior. Oscar producer Will Packer also revealed that the LAPD was ready to arrest Smith before Chris Rock refused to press charges.
Will Smith loses movies post the 2022 Oscars fiasco
Netflix's Fast and Loose, starring Will Smith, was already in troubled waters after former director David Leitch withdrew as the director of the movie. The streaming service has now moved the project to the back burner following the 2022 Oscars altercation between Smith and Chris Rock.
Sources said that Netflix was competing with Universal to be the next project for Leitch, but the latter took the lead. Although Netflix put out an urgent call for another director to take over the project, Will Smith's actions and behavior towards comedian Chris Rock led to the streaming service's decision.
Fast and Loose was to tell the story of a crime boss who loses his memory after an attack. After putting the clues together, he discovers that he has led a double identity as a wealthy executive and a broke CIA agent.
It is not yet clear whether Netflix will move forward with another actor or director.
Sources also revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that Sony's Bad Boys 4 was in active development prior to the 2022 Oscars. Will Smith also received 40 pages of the script before he went on the show, but now that project has also been put to a pause. Netflix refused to provide a comment.
Smith now has Apple+’s slave escape drama Emancipation in post-production. The streaming service had planned a 2022 debut but has not dated its release.
What did Will Smith do after the Oscars 2022 slap?
After the incident that shocked the audience and viewers of the 2022 Oscars, Will Smith apologized to the Academy while receiving his best actor award and said:
“I want to apologize to the Academy. I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees. This is a beautiful moment and I’m not crying for winning an award. It’s not about winning an award for me. It’s about being able to shine a light on all of the people."
The actor issued an official apology on Instagram to Chris Rock for slapping him as well as the Academy for his behavior. In the post, he said:
"I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.”
Since then, Will Smith said he was resigning from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. His announcement came days after the Academy condemned his actions at the 2022 Oscars and opened an inquiry into the incident.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Smith said:
“I have directly responded to the Academy’s disciplinary hearing notice, and I will fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.”
Only time will tell what more consequences lie ahead of Will Smith after his violent behavior at the 2022 Oscars. Chris Rock is, however, still "kind of processing what happened," according to a statement on his recent show in Boston. Although ticket prices for his show soared after the incident, Rock denied commenting more about it.
