Will Smith returns to awards stage for first time since 2022 Oscars

Will Smith returned to an award show stage for the first time since slapping Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

Smith made his return at the AAFCA Awards

The actor attended the African American Film Critics Association Awards, where he accepted the Beacon Award alongside his ‘Emancipation’ director Antoine Fuqua.

After Fuqua stepped to the podium and thanked the cast and crew he moved to the side, and allowed Smith to speak. It was the 54-year-old’s first in-person speech at an awards show since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars last year.

“‘Emancipation’ was the most individual difficult film of my entire career,” said Smith. “It’s really difficult to transport a modern mind to that time period. It’s difficult to imagine that, that level of inhumanity.”

Smith describes filming an ad-libbed ‘Emancipation’ scene

‘Emancipation’ is a 2022 historical thriller set in 1860s Louisiana after President Abraham Lincoln declared an end to slavery. Smith plays an enslaved man called Peter, and he described filming an ad-libbed scene that featured another actor spit on him.

“It was the second day of shooting and 110 degrees,” said Smith. “I was in a scene with one of the White actors, and we had our lines, and the actor decided to ad-lib. So, we’re doing the scene.

“I did my line. He did his line. And then he ad-libbed and spit in the middle of my chest. If I had pearls on, I definitely would’ve clutched them. I wanted to say, ‘Antoineeeeee,’ but I stopped, and I realized that Peter couldn’t have called the director.”

Smith continued: “I sat there, and I took a deep breath, and we did take two, and 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.

“I just held in that moment, and there was a part, it makes me teary right now, there was a part of me that was grateful that I got to really understand. And then, 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.”

Smith didn’t attend the NAACP Image Awards

Smith’s appearance comes days after he chose not to attend the NAACP Image Awards, which were held over the weekend.

Although he wasn’t in attendance, he did post a thank you on Instagram after taking home the Best Actor award for his portrayal of Peter.