2.2 MILLION reasons why Will Smith's Oscar infamy had NO EFFECT on his fan base
The Oscars, this time, were quite a film on their own that involved never-seen-before drama, action, redressal, and punishment. Will Smith, who bagged the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 2022 Oscars, had infamously slapped Chris Rock for his joke on Smith's wife. Since then, all has been topsy-turvey for the 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'.
With multiple commitments of his either delayed or shelved, one would expect an equal public lashing. Every time a public figure is involved in a controversy, we observe a significant fall in their followers which shows the celebrity in poor light. In the case of Will Smith, however, his social media has skyrocketed.
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Social Blade, a site which displays detailed metrics about celebrities' social media profiles, shows that the 'Bad Boys' star gained a mammoth 2.2 million followers on Instagram after the Oscars. Chris Rock was able to gain a meagre 760,000 followers during the same frame of time. While this is not a reflection of the professional lows and highs the two gentlemen have earned, it comes as a respite to Smith, who previously called social media his "bread and butter". Over the years, the megastar has religiously put in the hours to keep his profile active, spanning platforms, vlogs, and live videos. The last post on his page remains his public apology to Chris Rock.
On the professional front, Will Smith has had his share of Ws and Ls. His Netflix project 'Bright 2' got cancelled reportedly after the Oscars debacle, National Geographic's 'Pole-to-Pole' show got delayed, and another Apple TV+ film's release was pushed, according to multiple reports.
However, some other stalwarts in the industry have stood by the 'Men in Black' icon. In a conversation with Deadline, Sony chairman Tom Rothman dismissed rumours of 'Bad Boys 4' getting shelved and said, "No. That was inaccurate. That movie's been in development and still is. There weren't any brakes to pump because the car wasn't moving." Calling Smith a "good guy who had a bad moment", he vouched for Smith and implied the incident was a one-off. The star will also be working on a sequel to his unforgettable 2007 film 'I am Legend', called 'I am Legend 2'.
Chris Rock, on the other hand, seems to be faring well. The comedian's shows have been touching all-time-highs. His entire family had denounced Smith and had declined to accept his apology since it seemed "impersonal".
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Rock had taken a jibe at Pinkett Smith—Will's wife—shaving her head due to alopecia areata or spot baldness. Will Smith momentarily revisited memories of his "father abusing his mother" and acted the way he did. The Academy then banned Smith from all of the Oscars' editions for 10 years.