Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Will Smith's 1st Movie Since Oscars Slap To Be Released In December

Will Smith's 1st Movie Since Oscars Slap To Be Released In December

Apple made the surprise announcement that the tainted star's latest movie will hit theaters December 2, and begin streaming on Apple TV+ a week later.
Less than a year after Will Smith shocked millions around the world by slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, his new film "Emancipation" will be released this December, Apple said Monday.

The slavery drama was broadly assumed to have been delayed in the wake of Smith's assault on comedian Rock, which drew widespread condemnation and resulted in Smith being banned from attending the Academy Awards ceremony for 10 years.

But Apple made the surprise announcement that the tainted star's latest movie will hit theaters December 2, and begin streaming on Apple TV+ a week later.

The timing means Apple will be able to submit "Emancipation" to compete at the Oscars next March, just a year after it made history as the first streamer to win the Oscar for best picture with "CODA."

Smith has kept a relatively low profile since that night at the Academy Awards, when he won best actor for his performance in "King Richard" just minutes after he had marched on stage and hit Rock for making a joke about his wife.

The former "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star made a public apology shortly after the incident, and released an emotional social media video about the moment in July, offering to meet with Rock "whenever you're ready to talk."

The 53-year-old also resigned his membership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences -- although the organization did not revoke his best actor award, and his decade-long ban from attending the ceremony does not prevent him being nominated for Oscars.

Smith this weekend attended an advance screening of "Emancipation" hosted with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the US capital Washington.

The movie stars Smith as a fugitive from slavery on a harrowing journey north from Louisiana seeking freedom.

His character Peter is inspired by the infamous photograph of a slave whose back was mutilated by lashes received on a plantation, and who was dubbed "Whipped Peter."

The film is directed by Antoine Fuqua, whose 2001 police drama "Training Day" earned a best actor Oscar for Denzel Washington.

"Emancipation" was originally due to be filmed in Georgia, but production was moved last year after the southern US state approved a voting rights law that critics say is intended to depress turnout in Black and other underrepresented communities.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×