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Will Smith delivered his first personal speech at an awards ceremony tonight since the incident with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.
Smith accepted the Beacon Award at the African American Film Critics Association Awards. His Emancipation co-star Charmaine Bingwa and AAFCA co-founder Gil L. Robertson introduced Smith and Antoine Fuqua, the film’s director.
After a short speech from Fuqua, Smith took the stage.
Smith said emancipation meant so much to him and thanked the people and businesses who supported it.
“I want to thank Gil and AAFCA. I want to thank all of you in this room for doing what you are doing and keeping our stories alive. I want to thank Apple because budget was one thing. And then the budget was another matter. And then the budget was another matter. And Apple never flinched,” Smith said. “It was the first time I’d heard from a studio that story was more important than cost of execution… They make iPhones. You can do it.”
Before the speech, Smith met with Deadline and said he was so happy to be back. Smith is working on the fourth installment of his Bad Boys film series. He called it like being part of a family and said he’s never done a fourth film in a series.
“It’s like going back and it’s a different vibe,” Smith said. “I’m so happy to be back with the same people.”