'He's Still Kryptonite': Tom Cruise STILL SHUNNING Will Smith months after Oscar slap controversy
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Burning down their year-long friendship, Tom Cruise has reportedly been shunning old pal Will Smith following his assault on Chris Rock at the 94th Oscars ceremony on March 27. The ‘Pursuit of Happiness’ star walked onstage during the ceremony and slapped the comedian across the face for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head.
A source close to the ‘Top Gun’ actor revealed that he has been avoiding answering Smith’s requests to meet in person since the incident. "Will has approached Tom several times, trying to reconnect and see if they can hang out and brainstrom on some projects together," the source told Radar Online. "A solid movie with Tom would guarantee Will's comeback, or so he thinks. Will has even offered to fly to London if that's more convenient, but Tom isn't biting and doesn't even write him back."
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The source also added that Cruise can relate to what Smith has been going through after the infamous incident but that doesn’t mean he is going to "be stupid enough to put his neck on the line and be dragged down by association." "Tom is still very wary of any Hollywood friendships. He likes his reclusive lifestyle in the United Kingdom," the insider spilled further, "He doesn't want to get sucked back into the Hollywood scene — especially by way of Will Smith. He's still kryptonite."
However, Smith has been in a bad light since the controversial slap that led to his ban from all the Academy events for the next 10 years. Smith’s action not just affected his lush career but even pushed his popularity down. Data recovered by Q Scores, which measure celebrities’ brilliant ability and appeal, has shown that Smith’s popularity with the public plunged after his Oscars slap incident.
It was also reported that Chris has still been holding a grudge against Smith even after his long apology. A source told Radar Online that the ‘Down to Earth’ star was "angry" and had "mixed feelings" about Will's apology that was issued days after the ceremony. ”Chris is a good guy. Like everyone that saw Will's apology, he had mixed feelings," insiders spilled in August. "Part of him felt sorry for Will and another part of him felt angry that Will was making himself out to be the victim."
The ‘Men in Black’ star recently again apologized for his action during his emotional interview with Trevor Noah on 'The Daily Show’. During the interview, Noah said to the actor, "It felt like this was Will Smith for the first time going, 'OK, is this how you want me to respond or not?'" In response, Will replied, "It was a lot of things; it was the little boy that watched his father beat up his mother. All of that just bubbled up at that moment. That's not who I want to be…."