8 MONTHS AFTER THE OSCARS SLAP: Can Will Smith Be Redeemed?

HE LAY LOW AFTER ATTACKING CHRIS ROCK AT THE OSCARS, BUT NOW THE ACTOR IS ATTEMPTING A COMEBACK THAT HAS HOLLYWOOD DIVIDED

- ERIC ANDERSSON

For months after Will Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage at the 2022 Academy Awards in March over a joke the comedian made about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, the King Richard Oscar winner largely stayed out of the spotlight. In April he traveled to India for "spiritual purposes," a source told People at the time, and issued two apologies to Rock: in a March statement and then in a video posted online in July, in which he also addressed his relationship with the fans he'd disappointed. "I promise we'll be able to be friends again," he said.

Smith appears to be banking on that being sooner rather than later. His new drama Emancipation, based on the true story of a man who escaped slavery and fought with the Union Army during the Civil War, is now in limited theatrical release alongside other Oscar season fare. "I hope," Smith told People at the Nov. 30 L.A. premiere, "it creates empathy and compassion." In more ways than one, perhaps.