In the lead-up to the release of Will Smith’s highly-anticipated Apple TV+ movie, “Emancipation,” the film’s director Antoine Fuqua is speaking out as he defends his decision to move ahead with the project after Will’s controversial year. When the 54-year-old hopped onto the Oscars stage back in February and served Chris Rock with a slap across the face for making a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, even his fellow peers denounced his actions and said they were appalled by the altercation.
Netflix had reportedly halted production on several projects backed by Will, with others on social media calling for the father-of-three to be “canceled” for his public outburst. Well, one man who appears to have been on Will’s side through it all is Antoine, who stressed that the release of his movie shouldn’t be tied to “one bad moment.”
I had the pleasure of being invited to the premiere of @willsmith new movie, #emancipation, which was incredible‼️ When he speaks, I had to be present to ensure not to miss the gems of wealth of knowledge, so many messages & lessons he shared. In theaters December 9, 2022. pic.twitter.com/KBO5pE6EfL
— The PNP Agency™ (@thepnpagency) November 7, 2022
“Of course I wanted people to see the film. My conversation was always, ‘Isn’t 400 years of slavery, of brutality, more important than one bad moment?’” he told Vanity Fair as he described Will as “the nicest person I’ve ever met.” Antoine also shed light on the fact that there are countless names in Hollywood with bad reputations who have continued to excel by receiving awards for their work, so the idea of canceling Will — or the movie — was out of the question.
“We were in Hollywood, and there’s been some really ugly things that have taken place, and we’ve seen a lot of people get awards that have done some really nasty things.”
As tiresome as people have gotten of hearing about the Chris Rock and Will Smith Oscars fiasco, it’s no secret that the two still aren’t on speaking terms. Chris, who was undoubtedly left embarrassed by the on-stage slap, has made no effort in trying to have a meeting with Will, who has apologized on numerous occasions.
Speaking of his time working on “Emancipation” with Will in contrast to the person he watched at the Oscars, Antoine added, “So I saw a different person than that one moment in time, and so my reaction was that particular moment is very foreign to me when it comes to Will Smith.”
“I know Chris — Chris is a good guy too. I’ve spent time with Chris, and I think it’s an unfortunate event and I hope we can move forward and get past it.’
Has anyone mentioned Will Smith and Nino yet bc this is one of my favorite things
pic.twitter.com/ANRsswxYXe https://t.co/VDycviu8vK
— Mars✨they/them 💜💛💚✨ (@incorrect_NEWS) November 8, 2022
“I have nothing but amazing things to say about Will Smith, really genuinely. You can ask anybody that worked on the movie, they’ll tell you the same. Nicest person I’ve ever met in my life.”
“Emancipation” hits Apple TV+ on December 9.