Over a month after the infamous Oscars slap, fans and critics alike may finally be hearing Will Smith’s side of the story.
Yesterday (May 5), it was announced that Smith will be doing his first televised interview since physically assaulting fellow actor Chris Rock on stage at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27.
The Academy Award winner will be sitting down with famed talk show host David Letterman for season four of the Netflix TV show “My Next Guest Needs No Introduction.”
Season four drops on the streaming platform on May 20.
The popular Netflix show will also have Cardi B, Kevin Durant, Billie Eilish and actor Ryan Reynolds as guests this season.
There’s no official word on if Smith will address the incident or not. Sources say that some episodes were filmed before March 2022.
Many fans expected that with the return of the Facebook Watch series “Red Table Talk,” — which is hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith along with her mother and daughter Willow — we would get some insight on that night’s shocking events. However, when the official trailer dropped, there was no mention of it. Pinkett Smith later released a statement saying the topic would be discussed “when the time calls.”
Smith publicly apologized for his actions on more than one occasion, but that has not stopped him from catching some serious heat. The King Richard actor has lost project deals that were previously scheduled, his peers have spoken out against him and The Academy banned him for a decade.
Rock declined to press charges, but that didn’t stop his brothers from wanting to retaliate — with one even wanting to step into the boxing ring with Smith.
Since the slap, concerns have been raised about whether or not comedians are safe to tell jokes without the fear of being attacked. Earlier this week, Dave Chappelle was performing a set for the “Netflix is a Joke: The Festival” show when he was attacked on stage by a member of the audience.
Rock — who was present at the time — asked, “Was that Will Smith?”