Before the Oscars Slap: Will Smith’s Most Controversial Moments Through the Years

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

Before the Oscars Slap: Will Smith's Most Controversial Moments Through the Years

A controversial career. Will Smith has found himself at the center of several scandals over the course of his decades-long career, some of which even date back to his time on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. When Janet Hubert, who played Aunt Viv on the first three seasons, left the '90s sitcom due to "creative differences" in 1993, the "Summertime" rapper slammed his former costar during a radio interview. "I can say straight up that Janet Hubert wanted the show to be The Aunt Viv of Bel-Air Show," Smith said at the time, per E! News. "She's mad now but she's been mad all along. She said once, 'I've been in the business for 10 years and this snotty-nosed punk comes along and gets a show.' No matter what, to her I'm just the Antichrist." Though he later apologized for his comments, the Philadelphia native's remarks marked the start of a years-long feud with Hubert. "There will never be a [Fresh Prince] reunion ... as I will never do anything with an a--hole like Will Smith," the Love Life actress told TMZ in December 2011. Two years later, Hubert claimed that Smith was spreading "lies" about her behavior on set. "I think what happened, because the audience was so on my side at that time, that Will probably felt like he needed to go out, and he needed to tell a lot of lies. ... I have proof that a lot of that didn't happen," she told The Grio in March 2013. [jwplayer cpkqw1zv-zhNYySv2] The pair continued their back-and-forth for years before eventually burying the hatchet during the 2020 Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reunion special, where Smith acknowledged that he "made the set difficult" for Hubert during the third season. "Words can kill. I lost everything. Reputation. Everything, everything. I understand you were able to move forward," she told the Ali star during the HBO Max special. "Calling a Black woman ‘difficult’ in Hollywood is the kiss of death. It’s hard enough being a dark-skinned Black woman in this business. I felt it was necessary for us to finally move forward. And I’m sorry I have blasted you to pieces." While he was able to settle one of his Hollywood feuds, Smith started a brand new one at the 2022 Oscars by slapping Chris Rock during the ceremony. After the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, the Oscar winner stormed the stage to defend his wife (who has alopecia) and hit Rock in the face. After he returned to his seat, Smith shouted at Rock, telling him to "Keep my wife's name out your f--king mouth." The "Gettin' Jiggy With It" rapper apologized the following day for his behavior in a statement shared via Instagram. "Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable," Smith wrote in March 2022. "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. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness." Keep scrolling to relive Smith's most controversial moments: [podcast_block]

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

The Oscars Slap

A source told Us Weekly exclusively that Smith "immediately took action" to react to Rock's joke about Pinkett Smith after he noticed that she was "visibly upset" by the remark. During his emotional acceptance speech later in the night, Smith apologized for his reaction. “I want to apologize to The Academy, I want to apologize to all my fellow nominees,” he said in part, after winning best actor for his performance in King Richard. "But love will make you do crazy things."

In the wake of the controversy, Smith resigned from The Academy while awaiting the results of a disciplinary hearing about the altercation. "My actions at the 94th Academy Awards presentation were shocking, painful, and inexcusable. The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home," he said in an April 2022 statement to Variety. "I want to put the focus back on those who deserve attention for their achievements and allow the Academy to get back to the incredible work it does to support creativity and artistry in film." 

One week later, the Academy announced that Smith would be banned from all Oscar-related events and ceremonies for 10 years. "I accept and respect the Academy’s decision," he said at the time. 

Credit: Belen Diaz/DYDPPA/Shutterstock; Kobal/Shutterstock

Will vs. Aunt Viv

After nearly three decades, Smith sat down with Hubert in November 2019 as part of the Fresh Prince HBO Max reunion to clear the air. "During that third season when I got pregnant, there [were] a lot of things going on in my life and Will’s life as well,” Hubert recalled, claiming that her salary had also been cut. “Home life was not good at all. I was no longer laughing, smiling, joking because there were things going on that nobody knew about. [The] cast had no idea what was going on." 

In response, Smith admitted that he "wasn't sensitive" to his costar at the time. “Now that I’ve had three kids, I’ve learned some things I did not know at the time,” he said. “I would do things very differently. I can see where I made the set very difficult for Janet.”

Credit: David Fisher/Shutterstock

The Cheating Rumors

In November 2013, Smith was rumored to be hooking up with Margot Robbie on the set of their film, Focus, after photos were leaked of the pair joking around and fake-flashing the camera in a photo booth. "Been working nonstop, just catching my breath. There's absolutely no truth to the ridiculous rumor," the Australia native wrote via Twitter at the time. "It's disappointing that goofing around on set could be taken so out of context."

A source close to Smith echoed those sentiments to Us at the time: "They were just goofing around. Will is just like that. There's nothing more to it."

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

An Open Marriage

During an interview with GQ in September 2021, Smith revealed that he and his wife haven't always been monogamous. "Jada never believed in conventional marriage … Jada had family members that had an unconventional relationship. So she grew up in a way that was very different than how I grew up," he explained, later hinting that both parties had taken advantage of the "trust and freedom" in their relationship. "There were significant endless discussions about, what is relational perfection? And for the large part of our relationship, monogamy was what we chose, not thinking of monogamy as the only relational perfection." 

Credit: Shutterstock (3)

The 'Entanglement'

Musician August Alsaina brought the Smith's relationship into the spotlight in July 2020, when he revealed that he was romantically involved with Pinkett Smith and that the I Am Legend actor knew about it and had given them his blessing. Though she initially denied the claims, the Matrix star eventually confessed to being in an "entanglement" with Alsaina when she and her husband were separated. 

"We decided we were going to separate for a period of time and you go figure out how to make yourself happy and I’ll figure out how to make myself happy," Smith said during an appearance on Red Table Talk in July 2020. “I really felt like we could be over.”

Credit: Matt Baron/Shutterstock

No Punishments

Smith's unusual parenting style has raised eyebrows over the years, but he and his wife faced backlash in April 2013 when he revealed that they didn't believe in punishing his younger two children, Willow and Jaden. "We don't do punishment," he told Metro UK at the time. "The way that we deal with our kids is, they are responsible for their lives. Our concept is, as young as possible, give them as much control over their lives as possible and the concept of punishment, our experience has been — it has a little too much of a negative quality. So when they do things — and you know, Jaden, he's done things—you can do anything you want as long as you can explain to me why that was the right thing to do for your life."

Credit: Rob Latour/Shutterstock

The Scientology Issue

While neither he nor Pinkett Smith have ever confirmed their religious affiliation, the Smith family has long been rumored to be members of the controversial Church of Scientology. "I've studied Buddhism and Hinduism and I've studied Scientology through Tom [Cruise]. And nobody's saying anything different!" Smith told Men's Vogue in May 2011. His comments earned a great deal of backlash, especially when he claimed that "98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible." 

In October 2018, however, the Bad Boys star declared during an appearance on Red Table Talk alongside Pinkett Smith that his family have "never been Scientologists."