New York, Europe Brief News – Will Smith returns to awards stage in person for first tome after Oscars slap to accept AAFCA honor.
In his first in-person awards-show speech nearly a year after slapping Chris Rock in the face at the 2022 Academy Awards, the 54-year-old actor acknowledged his fellow Emancipation cast and crew for their efforts in making the film, which won a special honor at the African-American Film Critics Association Awards on Wednesday night.
“Emancipation was the individual most difficult film of my entire career. It was all outdoors, that is true,” Smith joked to the audience, per Variety, as he accepted the Beacon award along with the movie’s director, Antoine Fuqua.
“It was the second day of shooting and 110 degrees … I was in a scene with one of the white actors,” he continued. “The actor decided to ad lib. So we’re doing the scene. I did my line. He did his line. And then — ad lib — he spit in the middle of my chest.”
As the audience let out a groan, Variety reports, Smith added, “The actor felt that the ad lib had gone well. So we do take two. I do my line. He does his line — and spits in the middle of my chest again… In the distance, I hear a voice. And Antoine says, ‘Hey, let’s do a take without the spit.’ And in that moment, I knew that God was real.”
