Will Smith understands if people don't watch his films post Oscar slap: 'My deepest hope...'

Will Smith has been speaking about the Oscar slap for the first time publicly to late-night television hosts. He is anticipating backlash to his upcoming projects like 'Emancipation' due to the incident that sent shockwaves across the world earlier this year. While speaking to Fox 5,he said that he understands if people are not ready to watch him on the big screen again so soon, but he expressed concerns about the team behind the film, including the director Antoine Fuqua.

“I completely understand that, if someone is not ready. I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready. My deepest concern is my team. Antoine has done what I think is the greatest work in his entire career … the people on this team have done some of the best work of their entire careers, and my deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalize my team," said Smith.

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“So at this point, that’s what I’m working for. That’s what I’m hoping for. I’m hoping that the material, the power of the film, the timeliness of the story – I’m hoping that the good that can be done – will open people’s hearts at a minimum to see and recognise and support the incredible artists in and around this film," he added.

On March 27, during the Academy Awards ceremony, Will Smith did not like a joke made by presenter Chris Rock at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's expense. He walked up to the stage and whacked Chris Rock across the face in response. The act created an uproar that ultimately led the Academy to ban Smith for 10 years from Oscars or related events. Later in the ceremony, amazingly, Smith went on to win his first Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the sports drama 'King Richard'.

In 'Emancipation', Smith plays the role of an ex-slave who escapes his captors. The film has Peter, Smith's character, evading pursuers to reach North and joining the Union Army, the force that vanquished the slavery-supporting Confederate States Army. The film, penned by William N. Collage, is based on a fascinating real story of Gordon or 'Whipped Slave'. The image of his back, marked with scars of whipping, was one of the most remarkable images from the Civil War era.

Smith also gave a sort-of explanation of the slap in an interview with The Daily Show's Trevor Noah. He said, “[There are] many nuances and complexities to it, you know, but at the end of the day, I just, I lost it, you know. I guess what I would say, you just never know what somebody’s going through.”