As the anniversary of the Will Smith Oscar slap approaches, last year’s Best Actor Oscar winner has decided he has moved past the apology and reconciliation phase and into the self-deprecating charm phase of the scandal. And, honestly, it’s the only slap commentary that’s even remotely entertaining.
Since Smith slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, he’s been laying low. After enjoying a short, one-night-only victory lap, the actor issued an Instagram apology and retreated as the public openly debated his outburst. He commented publicly in the weeks that followed after the Academy announced that he would be banned from attending the awards for the next decade, but didn’t address the issue publicly again until July, when he did a Q&A with fans on TikTok, and then again in November, when he stopped by The Daily Show to promote his new film Emancipation. At the time, Smith was contrite, admitting that he “lost it” and stating, “That is not who I want to be.”
Now four months later, the actor appears to be done with the apology tour. This week, he shared a video on TikTok and Instagram that appeared to poke fun at his actions. “Did you know that you can pick any object, look at it, and ask it what it thinks of you?” advised creator @missmoneyworking in a TikTok. Well, Smith thought that idea might be an interesting exercise, so he made stitch. In the clip, he slowly picks up his Oscar, looks at it a bit confused, and then turns wordlessly to the camera.
@willsmith #duet with @missmoneyworking
♬ original sound - Will Smith
What the Oscar told him, we’ll never know. (“I think his Oscar just thinks he’s cool,” @missmoneyworking, the original poster, theorized on Instagram.) What I do know is that this TikTok is probably the best joke about the Oscars slap that will be made this awards season. The Oscars will air March 12, and, based on the award shows thus far — Eddie Murphy at the Golden Globes, Richard E. Grant at the BAFTAs — the jokes are far from over. Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel already referenced the slap in a promo for the awards. One TikTok from Smith won’t stop them, but, hey, a girl can dream.