Will Smith is back in the spotlight—and not for another blockbuster movie. This time, he’s hoping a rap album will clean up the mess he made at the 2022 Oscars, where he walked on stage and slapped comedian Chris Rock in front of millions, as TMZ reported.
Instead of moving on, Smith has decided to relive the moment—and the backlash—through lyrics on his new album, Based on a True Story.
This marks his first solo project in two decades, and he wastes no time diving headfirst into the controversy. The opening track, “Int. Barbershop - Day,” featuring DJ Jazzy Jeff and B. Simone, begins with a gut punch: “Will Smith is canceled.”
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From there, it’s a free-for-all of commentary that sounds like a mix between a Twitter thread and barbershop gossip. One line hits hard: “Who the f*** Will Smith think he is?” followed by another gem: “I ain't never gone forgive him for that stuff he did.”
And then, of course, we get to the slap—the now-infamous moment where Smith stormed the Oscars stage and smacked Rock for making a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith.
The lyrics lean into the drama:
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“I heard he down bad / I heard he won the Oscar but had to give it back / And you know they only made him do that s*** because he's Black.”
For the record, Smith never had to return the Oscar—just stay home from the Academy Awards for the next decade.
The song also throws more fuel on the fire with a nod to his wife Jada, a woman who’s brought her own share of attention, usually for all the wrong reasons.
“You wish you had a Jada Pinkett next to you,” one line goes, followed by:
“You better keep his wife's name out of your mouth.”
Smith doesn’t stop there. On another track, “You Lookin’ for Me?”, he tries to spin the situation into a comeback story. “Took a lot I’m back on top / Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated / Won’t stop my s*** still hot / Even though I won’t get nominated.”
It’s hard to tell if he’s being defiant, delusional, or both.
Three years after the slap, the wounds clearly haven’t healed—at least not for Smith. While Hollywood might try to spin this as a redemption arc, most folks see it for what it is: a desperate attempt to rewrite the narrative and score a sympathy comeback.
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Had he done nothing but laugh at Rock’s joke that night, Smith would be a media darling and respected by everyone. Unfortunately, just one look from Jada compelled him to do something very stupid, showing the world what an emotionally unintelligent simp he is. The level of embarrassment and humiliation he cause Rock, himself and his family are unforgivable. Just crawl under a rock and stay there, please.
I called BeeYess then and I still do. As soon as Rock gets to the Jada joke his hands go behind his back and pretty much stay there. So what, maybe that is his normal posture on stage? Nope. For a similar performance, compare his Oct 2020 SNL monologue, where he looked like he was conducting an orchestra, hands out front for about 7 minutes straight. At 0:27 in the clip, Smith is laughing; at 0:33 Big Angry Guy (Smith played Ali in a movie) is out of his chair, striding across the stage, scowling but utterly silent. Rock says “uh-oh” and then puts his hands behind him and sticks his chin out. Big Angry Guy slaps hard enough to spin them both around, but no split lip, no bruise, no swelling, no messed up makeup? In a theater with dozens of cameras, including one carried by a tech about 8 feet to Smith’s right, and the only view anyone has ever seen is the one in this article? Rock then gives play-by-play (for the radio audience, presumably) “Will Smith just slapped the shit out of me.” He doesn’t reflexively touch his face, he scarcely stops smiling? I will never be proved right and don’t expect to be. This will be the second thing mentioned in the obituaries of all concerned, so file under “no such thing as bad publicity.”