You may or may not be aware that this Friday marks the release of Will Smith’s highly anticipated new film, Emancipation. (It also debuts on Apple TV+ on December 9.) If you weren’t aware, it’s probably because the Antoine Fuqua-directed movie hasn’t received much publicity, and there’s probably a good reason why.
The actor is still dealing with the effects of slapping Chris Rock during this year’s Oscars, and it’s likely that this will have an impact on how Emancipation performs as well. Apple apparently thought about delaying the movie’s premiere till 2023 at one time due to the consequences.
Will acknowledged the effect that “The Slap” might have on how critics and viewers view Emancipation in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly. The fact that so many people contributed fantastic work to this movie is the one thing that makes my heart uncomfortable about it, he continued. “I hope my team doesn’t suffer any consequences for my conduct.”
Will continued by praising the “amazing work” of Antoine, director Robert Richardson, and his co-stars Ben Foster and Charmaine Bingwa, and he expressed regret that their efforts had gone unnoticed because of his earlier behaviour. He admitted that he “certainly loses a couple of winks of sleep every night” over the possibility of criticizing his squad, but added, “I’m going to do everything I can to make sure that everyone gets seen in the light that they deserve.”
