Will Smith returns to the stage for his film Emancipation a year after the Chris Rock slap-gate fiasco

A year after the the Chris Rock slap-gate fiasco at the Oscars 2022, Will Smith made a return to the stage to collect an award for his film Emancipation. The actor was awarded the Beacon Award at the African American Film Critics Association Awards for his performance in the film. Talking about the same, Smith said, “Emancipation was the most individual difficult film of my entire career. It’s really difficult to transport a modern mind to that time period. It’s difficult to imagine that level of inhumanity.” The slap-gate horror continues The slap sat front and center at Monday’s  Oscar nominees luncheon last month. So much so that motion picture academy president  Janet Yang neither had to describe it nor say the names  Will Smith or Chris Rock for the ballroom full of award hopefuls to know what she was talking about when she aired her regrets. “I’m sure you all remember we experienced an unprecedented event at the Oscars,” Yang told a crowd that included Tom Cruise,  Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett and Steven Spielberg during her opening remarks. “What happened onstage was wholly unacceptable and the response from our organization was inadequate.” The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences did little in response to Smith storming the stage and slapping Rock during last year’s Oscars telecast or in the immediate aftermath. It was nearly two weeks before its board of governors voted to  ban Smith from the Oscars and all other academy events for 10 years. Smith had already preemptively resigned as an academy member. “We learned from this that the academy must be fully transparent and accountable in our actions,” Yang said, “and particularly in times of crisis you must act swiftly, compassionately and decisively for ourselves and for our industry. You should and can expect no less form us going forward.” Yang, who was not president at the time, was interrupted by a mild round of applause, and did not elaborate further, moving on to happier topics. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.