Will Smith’s character in Bad Boys: Ride Or Die is slapped repeatedly in a climactic scene, in what is being described as a nod to his infamous Oscars moment.
At the ceremony in March 2022, Smith slapped Chris Rock onstage after the comedian made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Following the incident, Smith apologised to Rock, resigned from the Academy, and was banned from attending Academy events for 10 years.
Smith later released another apology on YouTube in July 2022 where he described his behaviour as “unacceptable”, adding: “I just didn’t realise, I wasn’t thinking about how many people got hurt in that moment.”
And now, in his new film, his character is seen being repeatedly slapped in the face in what many reviews have cited as an obvious reference to the controversy.
Variety note that it could be an effort to “make cruel fun” of Smith’s “transgression”, while Daily Beast describe it as “a tasteless nod” to the real-life slap in order to “rehab Smith’s image”.
Bad Boys: Ride Or Die is the fourth instalment in the buddy cop film series, starring Smith as Mike Lowrey alongside Martin Lawrence as Marcus Burnett. This time around, the duo are forced into being fugitives when they are set up and have to solve a case of corruption in a South Florida cartel outside the law.
The film, which also stars Vanessa Hudgens, Tiffany Haddish, DJ Khaled and Joe Pantoliano, is directed by Belgian duo Adil & Bilall, who also oversaw the previous entry, 2020’s Bad Boys For Life. It premieres in the UK on June 7.
In a two-star review of the film, NME described it as “a noisy, unfunny fourth instalment that’s only made endurable by some raucous action scenes.” While it praises some of the supporting case, it adds: “It’s just a shame they’re all woefully underused in a story that feels so same-old-same-old.”
In related news, Jerry Seinfeld recently said that he also tried to get a reference to the slap into his new Netflix film Unfrosted. He said he wanted to get Chris Rock to be the emcee of a fictional awards show where someone rose from the crowd to slap him, but Rock turned the offer down.
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