MOVIE NEWS – After the scandal at the Oscars where he slapped Chris Rock, Will Smith was seen in public for the first time. He posed for photographers in Mumbai, India.

Will Smith has avoided the public eye for a month after his infamous Oscar slap, but now he’s been seen in public in India. At the last Oscars, Smith slapped Chris Rock for making fun of his wife Jada’s baldness. The star’s wife suffers from an autoimmune disease that caused rapid hair loss, and Smith couldn’t take the joke. At the same gala, Smith won the Best Actor award for King Richard.

After the scandal, Hollywood ignored the actor, postponing several projects in which he was involved as an actor or producer. He apologised in vain, but the Academy suspended him for 10 years, and he has so far retired from public life. On Saturday, he turned up at a private airport in Mumbai, but according to TMZ, the Indian media were already aware of Smith’s trip and fans were waiting for him.

Although the purpose of his visit is not known, rumours have it that he plans to meet Sadhguru, a well-known Indian spiritual leader. This will not be the first meeting, Smith and his family have already been together with Sadhguru, who is dressed in the typical attire of Indian monks, in Los Angeles in 2020. Smith wore prayer beads around his neck. He had previously visited India in 2019 for his reality TV show Will Smith’s Bucket List, when he also performed various sacred rituals.

Like the fans, Hollywood is divided over Will Smith’s scandal. Some have called for his arrest. Since the Oscars, Smith and his family have become the butt of jokes, with many people supporting Chris Rock. Internet users in India have also voiced their opinion, suggesting that he should slap local politicians. But not everyone was condemning the move, with Denzel Washington and Terry Crews, for example, backing the star.

There are conflicting speculations about Will Smith’s future career. Some experts say it’s all good publicity for Hollywood and Will Smith will be swamped with roles, others believe we won’t see the Oscar-winning actor with King Richard for at least a few years. Several of his films, including Bright 2, I Am Legend, Bad Boys 4 and his biopic, have been parked. The Academy excluded him from its membership but did not take away Smith’s Oscar. This latter decision also caused much controversy.

It must be remembered that Will Smith is one of the most sought after actors in the business, so it is unlikely that he will have a long term problem with his behaviour. He will next be seen on Apple TV+ in the slave drama Emancipation.

Chris Rock is still reeling from what happened. He recently made a brief but self-deprecatingly humorous statement:

“I’m OK, I have a whole show [about other topics] and I’m not talking about that until I get paid. Life is good. I got my hearing back.”

Source: MovieWeb