In March, Smith released his first album in 20 years, “Based on True Story,” in which the rapper-actor opens up about various aspects of his life. Throughout the album, Smith tackles several highly talked about topics, including his controversial marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith. This marriage has been in the spotlight, especially after Smith slapped the comedian in defense of his wife. However, on April 9, RadarOnline reported that Chris Rock is unhappy with Smith for addressing the assault in his album.
A supposed unnamed source told the outlet, “Chris is absolutely seething over the latest antics of Will, who has been spouting off about his so-called spiritual journey.”
They added, “It’s hard not to roll your eyes when Will tries to market this changed man persona, especially after he had the audacity to make light of the slap in ‘Bad Boys’.”
In the fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise, released in 2024, Smith’s character gets slapped in the movie, which many took as an obvious reference to the Oscars incident with Rock.
On March 27, 2022, Chris Rock hosted the Academy Awards when he joked about Jada Pinkett Smith’s bald hairstyle, likening her to Demi Moore’s character from the 1997 film “G.I. Jane.” Moments later, Will Smith approached the stage, open-hand slapped Rock, and returned to his seat where he yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—king mouth!”
A day later, the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” star publicly apologized to Rock and the Academy. In July, he made a six-minute video in which he apologized to Rock again but the response he got was that Rock was not ready to talk.
Smith discussing the incident on the album may prolong Rock’s willingness to contact him, if he ever decides to.
In “Int. Barbershop Day,” the opening song of Smith’s album, he took no time to address the controversy surrounding that 2022 evening. In the first few lines of his verse he raps: “Will Smith is canceled/ Oh, you can’t cancel no icon.”
The “Six Degrees of Separation” star won the Oscar for Best Actor for his “King Richard” role. However, the Academy announced that he would be banned from all Oscars events for ten years.
In his song, he further addressed the aftermath of following the incident.
He rapped, “I heard he down bad. I heard he won the Oscar, but he had to give it back. And you know they only made him do that sh– because he’s Black.”
The source revealed Rock’s alleged reaction to this. They said, “For Chris, that laugh at the incident just reveals how truly insincere Will’s apologies are. He’s convinced it’s all just a show, with Will whining about his efforts to make amends as if he’s the victim here.”
“Chris can’t stand it and believes Will is merely playing the same old game – putting on a facade while remaining the arrogant, smug, self-serving guy he’s always been.”
Smith’s album is his first release in 20 years. The project features 14 tracks with collaborations from artists like Big Sean, Joyner Lucas, Russ, and others.