Will Smith isn’t running from his notorious Oscars slap — he’s even rapping about it.
Smith, 56, released his new album, Based on a True Story, on Friday, March 28, and it’s filled with lyrics that seemingly reference the 2022 Oscars moment when he unexpectedly walked on stage and slapped host Chris Rock. It came after Rock made an unscripted joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. (Jada has alopecia.)
Cameras caught Smith yelling at Rock after the fact, telling the comedian, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—— mouth!”
Smith appears to reference the incident immediately on the album, his first since he released Lost and Found in 2005. The first song, “Int. Barbershop — Day,” featuring B. Simone and DJ Jazzy Jeff, opens with the line, “Will Smith is cancelled.”
Everything to Know About Will Smith, Chris Rock’s Oscars Incident Over Jada
Another voice later adds, “I ain’t never going to forgive him for that s— he did.”
The song makes a more direct reference to the incident later with the lines, “Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talkin’ bout? / You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.”
“I heard he won the Oscar but he had to give it back / And you know they only made him do that s— because he’s Black,” the song continues.
Smith did not have to return his 2022 Best Actor Oscar for his role in the 2021’s King Richard, but he was banned from Academy Awards events for the next 10 years. The actor also resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Following the incident, Smith issued a public apology.
Will Smith Reboots Music Career, Performs New Song at 2024 BET Awards
“Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear emotionally,” he said at the time. “I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line, and I was wrong. I am embarrassed, and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be.”
Smith added more references to the slap later in the album on the track, “You Lookin’ For Me?”
“Took a lot, I’m back on top / Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated / Won’t stop, my s— still hot / Even though I won’t get nominated,” Smith raps.
The Fresh Prince actor explained in a teaser video before the album release that it came after a couple years of “deep exploration” into who he is.
“The process of this album is really allowing myself to be more honest with myself than I ever have about who and what I actually am,” he continued. “This is about to be the greatest artistic creative period of my entire life.”
Chris Rock Returns to Oscars Party for the 1st Time Since Will Smith Slap
Before releasing the album, Smith had already dropped a few singles, including “Beautiful Scars,” featuring Big Sean.
“The idea of ‘Beautiful Scars’ is just one of the things that really popped through for me as such a value to recognize that a difficulty, an adversity, a challenge, an obstacle is hard and painful in the moment but what you’re going through can turn out to be the greatest thing that has ever happened,” Smith explained during an iHeartRadio Live event in January. “What starts out as an adversity can turn into a beautiful stepping stone.”
Other singles on the album include “Work of Art,” featuring his and Jada’s son Jaden Smith and Russ, “Tantrum,” with Joyner Lucas and “You Can Make It.”
