Will Smith feels ‘brand new' after putting Oscars slap controversy behind him
The film star and musician said the moment, televised around the world at the 2022 awards, made him take 'a big, strong, honest look at myself'.
Appearing on 1Xtra, Smith told host Remi Burgz: 'After the Oscars I, like, shut it down for a minute and really went into the internal work…
'All of a sudden, it was like there was a manhole cover over some unexplored areas, and like the manhole cover came off, and it was scary for a minute.
'Then all of a sudden all of these new thoughts, new energies and new creativity came through.
'So, I feel like I'm brand new.
'I feel like the greatest creative period of my life will be in the next, you know, five to 10 years.'
Smith, who has starred in blockbusters such as the Men In Black and Bad Boys franchises, stormed the stage at the 94th Academy Awards and hit Rock after he made a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's hair loss.
Smith won the Oscar for best actor for his leading role in King Richard the same night.
Asked what it was like to make such a mistake in front of the world, Smith said: 'For the first time in my career, having to deal with a level of disapproval that I'd never had to experience.
'It's brutiful – it's brutal but beautiful.
'The addiction to the approval of others that I had to dissolve, brutiful.'
The Academy Awards called Smith's behaviour 'unacceptable and harmful', and banned him from the ceremony for a period of 10 years.
Smith released his first record in two decades earlier this year.
The album, Based On A True Story, also references the Oscars incident.
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Scottish Sun
42 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
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However, their relationship has reportedly caused a rift between Bieber and his best friend, Ryan Good. Sources previously told TMZ that Bieber hasn't spoken to Good, who was the best man at his wedding, for a year amid the fallout. Good, who co-founded the star's fashion brand Drew House in 2018, left the church due to its supposed "cult-like culture" and has been worried about Bieber, according to the outlet. He has not returned calls for comment on the situation. The tension is also said to have escalated when the star added Smith to the Drew House board, despite Good's reported concerns and the pastor's lack of business experience. Bieber has now distanced himself from the brand, telling fans not to buy clothing from Drew House. The U.S. Sun can reveal the singer has not been seen at Churchome's monthly in-person services for three months, while Smith hinted at the troubles in a rambling sermon this week. He has left fans worried with his bizarre behavior and comments about Hailey, including when she featured on the cover of Vogue, admitting in an Instagram post he told he she'd never be on the front of the fashion bible during an argument. Bieber was also filmed having a public meltdown ranting to paparazzi while at the beach with his family. Solemn Hailey Bieber seen WITHOUT her wedding ring on separate outings in NYC amid Justin divorce rumors His rep has also denied allegations of drug abuse, while followers on social media have been concerned with his weed smoking after becoming a new dad to his son, Jack Blues. EMOTIONAL SERMON On Wednesday evening, around 250 people shuffled into the iconic Saban Theater for the so-called Christhome Experience, and Smith apologized as he was late to the stage. While Bieber was nowhere to be seen, Smith name-dropped his close friend, former E! News host Jason Kennedy, who was sitting in the audience, and admitted pals had been worried about him. "Recently, I've had a lot of people ask me if I'm okay," Smith admitted. "Which, [at] face value, that is a wonderful thing to do, right? A text, 'Hey, you good?' 'Hey, you okay?' "The problem is when they add up, I start to wonder … maybe this has happened to you, wait, am I okay? "So Jason and I went to Miami this past weekend. It was a great time. And I ran into so many old friends I hadn't seen in a while. "And I was kind of taken aback because one person said, 'Hey, are you good? You okay?' And I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, no, I'm good.' I'm kind of like, what have you heard? "Then another person, 'Hey man, are you good? Are you okay?' Should I not be? Yeah, I'm still married to Chelsea. We're having sex pretty regularly. My kids are 20, 18, 16, I don't, uh, yeah. 'And then another person, 'Hey, you good? You've been on my mind.' Um, thank you. You ever had that? Someone's like, 'You've been on my mind.' You're like, 'I haven't thought about them in years.' You don't say that, of course. You're like, yeah, me too. I mean, it's good to see you. He went on: "Now part of that is like, wow, what a thrill, what an honor, what a privilege. Now, some of you right now, already, I've missed you with this message because you're like, 'I wish to God somebody would ask me if I'm okay', but have you ever been asked so many times if you're okay, that you started to wonder if you're okay? "And I'll admit in Miami recently seeing old friends, I started to say, 'no, I'm great'. And then I could hear through my own tone that my response was me also telling them, but also telling me that I'm great." He proceeded to reference Bible scripture and stumbled through the sermon as many of his jokes failed to land with the churchgoers. 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I'll leave it at that. But that didn't discourage me [from coming]. "Every church has its issues, there's mental illness with the people that go there. No church is perfect." On Bieber being missing from services, he said, "He's a big celebrity, he's got a busy schedule. And not to mention the health issues he's going through, everyone here is supportive. "He's participated here, given words here, so we all love him," he added, saying they would always welcome him. BIEBER'S CHURCH TROUBLES It's not the first time Bieber's association with spiritual advisors has caused issues in his personal life. He previously had to distance himself from Hillsong and disgraced pastor Carl Lentz, who was fired in November 2020 due to "leadership issues and breaches of trust, plus a recent revelation of moral failures." It was later revealed that these "moral failures" included affairs that rocked his marriage. 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Daily Record
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