Will Smith Admits ‘I Lose a Couple Winks of Sleep Every Night’ Over Post-Oscar Slap ‘Emancipation’ Release

Will Smith has begun making the publicity rounds for his new movie, Emancipation. It’s his first release after this year’s Oscars, when he slapped Chris Rock on live TV. Smith resigned from the Academy and has since issued a video apology to Rock, while the Academy banned him from its events for 10 years. He also seems aware that every interview for Emancipation will ask about the slap.

Smith appeared on Entertainment Weekly’s Awardist podcast with co-stars Charmaine Bingwa and Ben Foster. He said his main concern is that his co-stars and the filmmakers don’t get punished for his actions. Emancipation is now in theaters and will be on Apple TV+ Dec. 9.

Will Smith made a gradual return to publicity after the Oscar slap 

The Oscars were in March. Smith didn’t release his video until July 29. Meanwhile, Rock has gotten some laughs in his standup tours mentioning the slap, even though he doesn’t have a whole routine about it yet. 

Smith held some Emancipation screenings for friends, including celebrities like Rihanna and Dave Chappelle. His first official stop on the Emancipation promotional tour was The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Smith explained he “just lost it” and let years of rage come to the surface. Other reporters probably won’t get that much detail out of Smith, but he didn’t dodge the question from Gerrad Hall. 

Will Smith is thinking of his ‘Emancipation’ collaborators 

In Emancipation, Smith plays Peter, a slave in 1863 who escaped a plantation and joined the Union Army. Bingwa plays Peter’s wife, Dodienne, from whom he is pulled by the Confederacy. Foster plays a Confederate hunting Peter. Antoine Fuqua directed. Robert Richardson was the cinematographer and Smith would hate for his Oscar slap to overshadow their work. 

“I think Antoine and Bob and Ben and Charmaine, everyone has done such spectacular work,” Smith said on The Awardist. “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.”

Shining the spotlight on them 

Smith has taken steps to own up to his responsibility for the Oscar slap. With Emancipation in theaters and coming soon to Apple TV+, Smith hopes he doesn’t pull the spotlight away from people who had nothing to do with the slap. Emancipation wrapped production before the Oscars.

“The most important thing for me and the only discomfort my heart has around that is so many people have done spectacular work on this film,” Smith said. “My hope is that my team isn’t penalized at all for my actions. So as I’m out and moving into the world, I would say that’s the first and foremost concern for me.”