Tuesday 29 November 2022 12:21 AM Will Smith says he has lost sleep over his infamous Oscar slap hurting his new ... trends now
Almost exactly eight months after his infamous Oscar slap, Will Smith admits he has lost sleep over the slap hurting his new film Emancipation.
Smith, 54, won his first Oscar for King Richard just an hour after he slapped Oscar presenter Chris Rock for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith.
Now Smith reveals in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he is worried his action may have hurt the film's awards season chances.
Slap: Almost exactly eight months after his infamous Oscar slap, Will Smith admits he has lost sleep over the slap hurting his new film Emancipation
Chances: Now Smith reveals in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he is worried his action may have hurt the film's awards season chances
'The only discomfort my heart has around that is that so many people have done spectacular work on this film,' Smith says.
'My hope is that my team isn't penalized at all for my actions. I think (director) Antoine (Fuqua) and (cinematographer) Robert (Richardson) and Ben (Foster) and Charmaine (Bingwa) — everyone has done such spectacular work,' he added.
'I definitely lose a couple winks of sleep every night thinking that I could have potentially penalized my team, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets seen in the light that they deserve,' he added.
Discomfort: 'The only discomfort my heart has around that is that so many people have done spectacular work on this film,' Smith says
Penalized: 'I definitely lose a couple winks of sleep every night thinking that I could have potentially penalized my team, but I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets seen in the light that they deserve,' he added
While it's unclear if Smith will be nominated for his work in Emancipation - based on the true story of a slave known as 'Whipped Peter' whose scourged back photo provided the world proof of slave owners' cruelty - he won't be able to accept an Oscar in person if he were to win.
Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the organization enacted a 10-year ban from attending the Oscar ceremony after the slap.
Smith added that he had seen the famous 'Whipped Peter' photos
