Whilst the entire Oscars 2022 ceremony was overcast by Will Smith striding on stage to slap host Chris Rock and tell him to, ‘my keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth’ it seems that despite being banned from the ceremony for the next 10 years and studios retreating from casting him it Will Smith wins his first award, his first after almost twelve months on from the incident.
It was at the NAACP awards (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) where Will Smith wins his first award for Emancipation since the outrage and backlash after wards. The actor did not attend the awards and presenter Janelle Monáe accepted the award on his behalf and the audience applauded at his win.
It seems that Smith was watching the ceremony at home having understandably maintained a low profile since last years Oscars. Instead he responded to the win on his instagram account writing, ‘ “WOW!! NAACP!! I am absolutely humbled by this!!” before going on to thank Emancipation director Antoine Fuqua and several others that the actor had worked with on the Apple film. Smith went on to refer to NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson, writing, “I would like to thank the NAACP for honoring our film! [Derrick Johnson,] you and your entire organization – and the work you do all year round – is truly important, so to be recognized by y’all – it means a lot.”
Smith praised Queen Latifah for her work hosting the ceremony telecast.
Emancipation was a decent film and in fairness if Smith had not assaulted Chris Rock in a moment broadcast around the world it is a strong possibility that he could have been further nominated for either Oscar, Golden Globe or BAFTA this year. Instead at present there are no productions listed for him to appear for the foreseeable future
Further read; How does Will Smith salvage his career after that Oscar assault?
Further watch : Jemima Khan & Naughty Boy introduce rom-com, ‘What’s love got to do with it?’
