Will Smith made his comeback to the stage at the 2024 BET Awards on Sunday, June 30. The rapper-turned-actor performed his new song "You Can Make It," marking his performance debut at the BET Awards.
It also marks the first time the Bad Boys star has appeared at an award show since the 2022 Academy Awards, where he received a 10-year ban after slapping Chris Rock . While there was fear that the actor would be canceled after the incident, the Hancock star slowly made his way back into the public's good graces.
Check out how Will and his team were able to revive his career after the Oscars incident.
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What happened at the Oscars?
During the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, Will Smith walked onstage and assaulted Chris Rock by slapping him across the face during the comedian's presentation for Best Documentary Feature. The slap was in response to an unscripted GI Jane joke Chris made about Will's wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, which was a result of her being diagnosed with alopecia. The incident became known as "The Slap Heard Around the World" and "Slapgate," dominating the social media conversation for weeks.
Some people, including celebrities, were appalled by Will's behavior at the Oscars and he was punished with a ban from the prestigious Academy and any of its events for 10 years. Some of the projects that he had in the works were put on hold because of the now infamous Oscars slap. The Netflix film Fast and Loose and Sony’s highly-anticipated sequel Bad Boys 4 were both temporarily shelved.
Will slowly returned to the spotlight after the Oscars incident
Will disappeared from the spotlight, seemingly more preoccupied with inner healing than his career. The Hitch star took a break from the public and social media for about four months, traveling to Ecuador and other countries during that time. At the end of July 2022, he answered some prewritten questions addressing the night of the Oscars on Instagram.
"Over the last few months, I've been doing a lot of thinking and personal work. You asked a lot of fair questions that I wanted to take some time to answer," he said in the video, and added that his wife Jada Pinkett Smith had "nothing to do with it" even though the slap happened after the comedian made a joke at her expense.
Will returned to work to promote his film Emancipation
Since that video, the actor got back on the horse and has been fully back in the public eye, being active and regularly sharing videos on social media. His official career return was during the press tour for his Apple TV+ drama Emancipation, giving him a controlled space to answer questions about the incident and masterfully keeping the attention on the film, which hit theaters in December 2022. He received support from other Black entertainers for the release of that film.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die's success proved that Will is here to stay
Earlier this year, he made a surprise appearance during J Balvin's Coachella set, surprising fans by performing his iconic rap and dance moves from the 1997 Men in Black music video. After that, he was back at work with Martin Lawrence on the fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die.
The film was released in June and became a massive box-office success. But it was the movie star's promotional tour, granting access to countless outlets, fans, and influencers, making himself relatable and likable again, for those who had perhaps stopped liking him.
He secretly watched screenings of the movie with fans and surprised them in the end, creating memorable experiences for them while also being content gold. The movie made over $270 million worldwide against a reported budget of $130 million, and that was a clear sign that the tide was turning for Will, or maybe it never did.
While his marriage to Jada and the slap became a go-to joke for comedians and late-night show hosts, the pair showed a united front and she attended the film's premiere—showing that in the end, they are a family. And that Will is not going anywhere.
Will shared his powerful song You Can Make It
Will rapped powerful lyrics surrounded by a ring of fire, and performed alongside The Sunday Service Choir and Kirk Franklin. His lyrics focused on enduring a hard time. "I see you broken and tired and all your hope is expired," he rapped. "If God is for real, you just wonder if he'll listen. So many tests for the flesh, exhausted, gasping to catch your breath, walking through the valley of the shadow of death, when you think you got nothing left, keep going."
"Nobody gets an easy ride. We all have a cross to bear," he continued. "But there is wisdom in that fire." This captivating debut of his new song is his first solo release in over six years. Adding someone like Kirk to the mix, and lyrics about God showed that Will had perhaps undergone massive self-reflection that inspired the song.
Fans react to Will's stage comeback
Fans compared Will's performance to Kanye West, who also transformed from rap to gospel music after he endorsed Donald Trump in 2016. Kanye has also had religious motifs in his music throughout his career, and Will performed alongside the rapper's Sunday Service Choir. "I have returned Home! The comeback is always bigger than the setback," the rapper wrote along with a video from the performance.
While some believed that the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star was only returning to BET after "white folks" canceled him, others disagreed. "So, Will Smith wants to come back to the Black community," one fan wrote. "Sorry, Will, we’ve seen this done before, and Ye’s was much better!!"
"They say Will Smith was pandering to us last night after he got banned from the #Oscars. Will Smith can come home to us because he never left us," one fan said, defending the star.
While some fans believed that the performance was an attempt at redemption for the movie star, other fans believed that an apology or repentance was not necessary. After all, Will and his team have seamlessly executed a comeback that perhaps will go down as one of the most remarkable redemption arcs in Hollywood history.
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