Will Smith faced the most infamous moment of his career in March 2022 when, on what was meant to be his night of triumph at the Oscars, he ended up banned by the Academy for slapping Chris Rock.
Three years later, he has used the notorious encounter for fuel on his new album Based on a True Story.
The Guardian newspaper reports that the first words on the album announce that “Will Smith is cancelled,” before the actor starts rapping with lines including “I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back.”
Smith won the Best Actor Oscar in 2022 for his role in King Richard, but the headlines were stolen by his altercation with guest presenter Rock. Millions watched as Smith took issue with a joke made by Rock about Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith, then the actor walked on stage and slapped Rock before continuing to shout from his seat.
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Smith was not asked to give his Oscar back as a result of the incident, but he was subsequently banned from attending any events connected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for a decade. And he voluntarily resigned his Academy membership, while putting out a statement of apology that he had let people down.
The second song on the album, titled ‘You Lookin’ for Me?’ Includes the lines:
“Took a lot, I’m back on top / Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated / Won’t stop, my s**t still hot / Even though I won’t get nominated.”
Rock kept his counsel about the incident until the release of his Netflix stand-up special Selective Outrage, in which he gave his opinion that Smith’s reaction had less to do with his remarks and more to do with the public scrutiny of the Smith marriage.
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