The Utter And Complete Downfall Of Will Smith
For a good 15 years, Will Smith was considered one of the most bankable Hollywood stars on the planet. The actor fronted two hugely popular franchises, "Bad Boys" and "Men in Black," enjoyed monster box office successes with "I, Robot," "Hitch," and "I Am Legend," and even impressed the Academy enough to gain best actor nominations for "Ali" and "The Pursuit of Happyness." Even when he was arguably off form, as in "The Legend of Bagger Vance" and "Seven Pounds," he still pulled in the cinemagoers.
Not only that, but Smith also conquered the Billboard charts with his family-friendly pop-rap, scoring number ones with "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" and "Wild Wild West," and had a reputation as one of the nicest guys in Hollywood, to boot.
But from the late 2000s and early 2010s, Smith's apparent too-good-to-be-true status started to take a bit of a hit. And within a decade, he'd become firmly renowned as one of the showbiz world's seemingly oddest personalities. From personal revelations to flop films and, of course, being cancelled in 2022 following the Oscars slap that reverberated around the world, here's a look at Will Smith's downfall.
Aunt Viv called Will Smith out
Janet Hubert, aka the original Aunt Viv on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," was one of the first stars to publicly call Will Smith's nice guy reputation into question. In 2011, for example, she dismissed rumors of a return to the sitcom, telling TMZ, "I will never do anything with an a**hole like Will Smith. This constant reunion thing will never ever happen in my lifetime unless there is an apology, which he doesn't know the word."
Back in 1993, Hubert claimed she'd essentially been forced out of the hit NBC comedy after receiving a derisory contract offer. After being replaced by Daphne Maxwell Reid following Season 3, she filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against its leading man and the network for unspecified damages. She'd alleged, per the Chicago Tribune, that Smith had persuaded NBC bosses to lessen both Hubert's role and pay, while also spreading gossip about her supposedly difficult conduct on set, which Hubert would later argue blacklisted her from the industry.
After much back and forth, Hubert's stance eventually softened enough for her to appear alongside the cast — including Smith — in HBO's 2020 reunion special. While clearing the air on camera, her former foe acknowledged he hadn't always been the easiest co-star. Indeed, after Hubert explained that she'd been going through various personal difficulties at the time — including an allegedly abusive marriage — Smith admitted (via the Los Angeles Times), "I can see now the level of pain and the level of struggle that it was for you just to show up every day."
Will Smith linked Scientology with the Bible
Despite the longtime feud with Janet Hubert, you could argue that the wheels first started to fall off the Will Smith train in 2008, when he made some rather questionable remarks about religion. In an interview with Men's Vogue, the "Ali" star admitted that he'd studied Scientology alongside Buddhism and Hinduism and had failed to note many differences. In fact, Smith said (via HuffPost) that "98 percent of the principles are identical to the principles of the Bible."
The theory that he and wife Jada Pinkett Smith had become the Church of Scientology's latest A-list recruits gained further credence due to the amount of time they appeared to spend with its chief celebrity spokesperson, Tom Cruise. Not to mention the hefty $122,500 donation the married pair made around this time to various organizations with ties to the controversial church.
While appearing on his wife's "Red Table Talk" show in 2018, Will explicitly denied ever being a Scientology member. However, by 2013, the Academy Award winner would once again be accused of associating with Scientology, which only furthered outside criticism.
He suffered the 'most painful failure' of his career
"A big-screen vanity project," noted The New York Times. "Another uncompromisingly terrible film ... featuring a triple-whammy of abysmal acting, directing and story," declared The Guardian. "Is 'After Earth' the worst movie ever made?" asked The Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, a Vulture headline dubbed "After Earth" as "Will Smith's Love Letter to Scientology." And these were arguably some of the more positive reviews!
Yes, while Will Smith hadn't always struck critical gold, his 2013 collaboration with M. Night Shyamalan received a drubbing like never before. To make matters worse, the star had also roped his young son, Jaden Smith, into appearing alongside him in the incomprehensible sci-fi flick. It's the latter fact which appears to have haunted Will ever since, with the star later admitting to Esquire, "That was the most painful failure in my career. ... My son was involved in 'After Earth' and I led him into it. That was excruciating."
In fact, the terrible reviews and underperforming box office numbers prompted the future Oscar winner to take a break from acting for 18 months in order to rediscover his craft. "What I learned from that failure is how you win. I got reinvigorated," Will explained. "... I had to dive into why it was so important for me to have number-one movies."
Will Smith co-founded an alleged Scientology school
In 2007, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith opened up The New Village Leadership Academy, a public elementary school in California — which was soon accused of being a front for a Scientology recruitment drive. Both parties firmly denied that this was the case at the time, with Jada telling Ebony in 2009 (via Mirror), "That is straight evil to think that I would bring families into that educational institution and then try to get them to convert into some religion."
However, in 2020, the institution's former headteacher Jacqueline Olivier contradicted this argument, alleging to The Daily Beast that the NVLA was a Scientology school in all but name. She backed up this claim by revealing that numerous Scientology methods such as Tone Scale — a process of emotional analysis — were deployed during classes. Olivier also disclosed that she and other staff members were apparently required to attend the church's Celebrity Centre located in Hollywood for various courses, too.
Olivier, who believes she was allegedly fired from her position for her stance against Scientology, also detailed how some parents reportedly took their kids out of the academy once they realized it was an alleged indoctrination program: "[Will and Jada] just didn't understand that nobody wants to go to a Scientology school — especially when you're not admitting that that's what it is." The Smiths would continue to deny their alleged association with Scientology, and by 2013, the controversial NVLA would close.
The star revealed he doesn't discipline his kids
In 2013, Will Smith's parenting techniques raised eyebrows when he revealed that he and wife Jada Pinkett Smith essentially let their two children, Jaden and Willow Smith — then in their early teens — do whatever they want. Speaking with Metro (via E! News), Will admitted, "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."
Will acknowledged that Jaden had already done some things that could be considered questionable, but noted that as long as his son could provide justification, well then, that was mighty fine with this celeb parent. That same year, Jaden courted controversy on Twitter when he advised his teenage fans to drop out of school, describing those who attend as being brainwashed. For his 15th birthday and just following "After Earth's" flop, Jaden also asked for emancipation from both his parents, a request he later rescinded.
In 2014, the Smiths' relaxed parenting approach was once again called into question when an Instagram pic showed 13-year-old Willow and a topless Moisés Arias, the "Hannah Montana" star seven years her senior, on a bed. This time, it wasn't just online detractors who had their say. Per Radar, a Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services investigation was launched and ultimately concluded that Arias posed no danger — though it was suggested that the power couple pay closer attention to their kids' social media activity.
Will Smith was linked to Margot Robbie
Will Smith's reputation as a faithful, happily married man was called into question in 2013 when he was pictured getting rather cozy with Margot Robbie on the set of their crime caper "Focus." Don't forget, this was several years before the former "Fresh Prince" star and wife Jada Pinkett Smith had revealed that they were in an open relationship.
Tongues started wagging thanks to photos showing Will giving Margot a piggyback ride and the pair joking around in a photo booth. An onlooker alleged to Star (via the Daily Mail), "He wasn't acting like a married man. He gave no signs that he was in a committed relationship ... what kind of married man would go into a photo booth with a sexy 23-year-old and start to undress?"
Of course, Margot soon hit Twitter to set the record straight on the subsequent cheating allegations: "Been working nonstop, just catching my breath. There's absolutely no truth to the ridiculous rumor in Star mag. It's disappointing that goofing around on set could be taken so out of context," she wrote in since-deleted posts. Similarly, an anonymous insider also told Us Weekly that the pair's on-set horseplay was entirely innocent: "They were just goofing around. Will is just like that. There's nothing more to it." While this infidelity rumor was ultimately dismissed, it unfortunately wouldn't be the only time the Smiths' marriage weathered cheating allegations.
He experienced the biggest box office flop of his career
While "After Earth" had disappointed at the box office, it still raked in over $243 million internationally. Will Smith's next big flop, however, failed to make it past the nine-figure mark. To add insult to injury, it also posted the lowest first-week opening weekend gross of the actor's career, raking in only $7.1 million in the U.S. Ouch.
Yes, "Collateral Beauty" proved once and for all that Smith's famous name was no longer a guaranteed draw at the box office. The 2016 fantasy drama saw the star play Howard Inlet, an advertising executive who, after experiencing a great loss, starts writing letters to Time, Death, and Love, only for these abstract concepts to correspond in personified forms respectively played by Jacob Latimore, Helen Mirren, and Keira Knightley.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, a film with such an out-there premise attracted the attention of the Golden Raspberry Awards in 2017. Smith and the rest of the star-studded cast were subsequently nominated for worst screen combo, an award they eventually lost to Ben Affleck and Henry Cavill of "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice." So, if it's any consolation to Smith, at least there's that.
Will Smith's return to music also bombed
Having dipped his toes back into musical waters with a guest appearance on the 2015 remix of Bomba Estéreo's "Fiesta," Will Smith then attempted a full-blown comeback by fronting the official song for the 2018 World Cup. But it's fair to say that "Live It Up" was no "Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)," the popular 2010 offering by Shakira.
Indeed, Smith's collaboration with Nicky Jam and Era Istrefi was slated by fans and critics, with many struggling to understand how a Latin pop track had anything to do with a soccer tournament held in Russia. The Independent went in particularly hard, describing the tune as "the epitome of a try-hard creation that lacks much of what makes music great — inspiration and raw emotion — and lays on thick the things that we couldn't care less about." Yikes.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, "Live It Up" didn't make any impression on any of the Billboard charts — and it was a similar story with "Está Rico," a team-up with Marc Anthony and Bad Bunny released later that same year (though, to be fair, this track did peak at No. 5 on the Hot Latin Songs chart). Following his contributions to the soundtrack for "Aladdin," the live-action adaptation in which he played the Genie, Smith appears to have swerved the recording studio entirely, at least as of this writing.
He and Jada Pinkett Smith publicly aired their dirty laundry
When it comes to oversharing, some might argue that few Hollywood couples can beat Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. But the pair took things to new heights in the summer of 2020, when Will appeared on his wife's Facebook Watch chat show "Red Table Talk" to discuss her alleged infidelity.
Shortly before, singer August Alsina revealed that he and Jada had become romantically involved, and supposedly with her husband's full blessing, too. On "Red Table Talk," "The Matrix" star denied the latter claim, but she did admit to getting into an "entanglement" with the Grammy Award nominee during a period of separation, in which she and Will nearly called it quits for good. It's worth noting, then, that neither party considers Jada's temporary ties to Alsina to be cheating. Referring to their subsequent televised act of solidarity, Will jokingly told Jada (via BuzzFeed News), "I feel like that husband, like, I'm with you at the press conference. I'm that husband. Now I gotta be with you at the press conference while you, like, tell the world about your transgressions. Like, 'I love my baby, I'ma stand by my baby no matter what.'"
While some viewers applauded the pair for being so candid about the nature of their relationship in public, others felt that this was a conversation that should have been conducted privately, arguing that this was perhaps an example of the power couple seeking publicity. We'll leave it to you to decide.
Will Smith revealed he once wanted his own harem
Will Smith further tainted his wholesome image status in 2021 when he revealed to GQ that he used to have ambitions of having his own celebrity harem. To arguably make things even ickier, the "Bad Boys" star even thought about contacting his most desired female celebrities to ask for their thoughts on the matter.
Now, Will luckily came to his senses before taking what could've been an embarrassing leap among his peers — but he also publicly revealed that ballerina Misty Copeland and fellow actor Halle Berry were two of the women he'd lined up for his imaginary harem. He explained, "I don't know where I saw it or some s*** as a teenager, but the idea of traveling with 20 women that I loved and took care of and all of that, it seemed like a really great idea."
Will had first started thinking about such a group during a difficult period in his marriage to Jada Pinkett Smith and later informed his intimacy coach who, perhaps surprisingly, encouraged the star to look into the idea further. It was only then that the star realized how ill-thought out it was. Will said, "After we played it out a little bit, I was like, 'That would be horrific. That would be horrific.' I was like, 'Can you imagine how miserable?'"
He slapped Chris Rock on the Oscars stage
While presenting an award at the 2022 Oscars, Chris Rock made an arguably insensitive joke about Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head, likening the look to the lead character in "G.I. Jane" — the "Red Table Talk" host previously opened up about her diagnosis with the hair loss condition known as alopecia. Compared to the roastings many get at such events, some might feel it was a relatively tame quip. In fact, Will Smith could even be seen laughing along at first, until his opinion appeared to shift a mere few seconds later.
Much to the amazement of everyone in the Dolby Theatre and those watching at home, Will then took to the stage to slap the stunned Rock before returning to his seat, twice uttering the words, "Keep my wife's name out your f***ing mouth!" The star then reportedly refused a request from the Academy to make his exit from the entire ceremony.
The night in question should have been one of the most glorious of Will's career. Having previously picked up several Oscar nominations, the multi-talent was finally crowned best actor thanks to his leading performance as Serena and Venus Williams' father in "King Richard." Will later apologized for his actions in a video posted on his YouTube channel and also resigned from the Academy. The latter also dished out their own punishment, barring Will from any of the organization's events for the next decade. Several of his planned projects, including "Bright 2," were also reportedly put on hold as a result.
Will Smith previously slapped a prankster
Thought that Chris Rock was the first person that Will Smith slapped in public? Think again. 10 years previously, the Oscar winner had been targeted by Vitalii Sediuk, a Ukrainian journalist and prankster, at the Moscow premiere of "Men in Black III." And his first instinct, it appeared, was to react with physical violence. Admittedly, Sediuk wasn't exactly an innocent party in all of this. With seemingly no concept of personal space, the local star leaned in for a kiss after asking Smith for a hug. "What the hell is your problem, buddy?" responded the Hollywood favorite, having slapped Sediuk with the back of his hand in retaliation. Per Entertainment Weekly, Smith allegedly told his red carpet entourage after the incident, "He's lucky I didn't sucker punch him."
Both parties later admitted they could have handled things better. Smith said on "The Late Show with David Letterman" that he was simply caught off guard by the over-amorous reporter. For his part, Sediuk issued a full apology in a Hip Hollywood video (via the Daily Mail), in which he confessed that he'd overstepped the mark. "I just wanted to do something extraordinary to impress him," the jokester said.
Remarkably, this wasn't the only incriminating video to resurface in the wake of Smith's Oscars slap. Just months earlier, the actor was filmed during a "King Richard" press junket showing a young fan how to pull off an on-screen fake slap. Seemingly innocuous, yes, but neither clip has aged well, to say the least.
He was also branded a hypocrite
Nothing ever stays buried on the internet for too long. Following Will Smith's admitted overreaction to Chris Rock's joke about his wife's shaven head at the 2022 Oscars, a video clip re-emerged showing the "Fresh Prince" alum making a similar quip more than 30 years previously.
Back in 1991, Smith appeared on "The Arsenio Hall Show," where he mocked one of the live band's musicians for his lack of hair. Pointing to the man in question, Smith said, "Like, he has a rule, the bass player? He's got a rule: He's gotta wax his head every morning. That's a rule." Referencing the nervous laughter coming from the crowd, the star added, "Ah, these are jokes, come on!"
Twitter was its usual divisive self over the matter, with some users declaring Smith a hypocrite ("He was fine joking about someone else ... but could not handle it when the joke came about his family.") and others arguing that the star was only in his 20s at the time compared to a 50-something Rock ("There are things that I thought were okay to say when I was young and naive. I know better now. Chris should've known better.").
Chris Rock accused Will Smith of having 'selective outrage'
Nearly a year after the Oscars slap that reverberated around the world, Chris Rock recorded a Netflix comedy special titled "Chris Rock: Selective Outrage." That's a subject, according to the funnyman, that the man who assaulted him live on the Academy Awards stage knows all about.
Referring to both the infamous moment and Jada Pinkett Smith's admitted "entanglement" with singer August Alsina, Rock claimed in his March 2023 special (via People), "Will Smith practices selective outrage. Everybody that really knows knows I had nothing to do with that s***. I didn't have any 'entanglements.'" In reference to the Smiths' joint "Red Table Talk" appearance, the comedian added, "We all been cheated on. Everybody in this industry has been cheated on. None of us have ever been interviewed by the person that cheated on us on television. None of us. ... Why the f*** would you do that s***? She hurt him way more than he hurt me, okay?"
Rock went on to allege that he'd tried to get in touch with Will to lend a supportive ear following these revelations — but without any luck. The comedian then chastised his new arch nemesis for allegedly taking his anger out on someone he knew couldn't or wouldn't fight back, calling Will various iterations of the word "b***h." If the former "Fresh Prince" star thought that he'd be able to put the incident in the past, Rock's stand-up special has suggested that it unfortunately might always follow him around.