After the 'Slap Incident,' Can Will Smith Earn His Way Back To the Oscars? (Image-Instagram/willsmith)

The Hollywood’s Fresh Prince, Will Smith, after his infamous decade ban from the Academy Awards, seems could earn his way back to the Oscars. But what does it take for him to get back to it?

Smith’s road to Oscar has been blocked for a decade from 2022 until 2032.  And now even with the box office success of Bad Boys 4, will Smith’s exclusion from the Academy Awards be in effect?  So, what’s this infamous 10-year ban on Will Smith?

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The event dates back to the 2022 Oscars where Smith shockingly stood up from his seat and walked onstage to smack host Chris Rock across the face after the comedian made a joke about the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. After hitting Rock, Smith repeatedly shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth!”

This action of the Hollywood star stunned the whole event, which led to his resignation from the Academy. He was banned from appearing at Film Academy events, including the Oscars, for ten years. However, he was still nominated and won an Oscar, and was able to keep his award for best actor, which he won during the ceremony, shortly after the slap, for his role in King Richard. 

So, as the confusion on Will Smith’s return to Oscar has been revolving around, Paul N. J. Ottosson, a three-time Oscar winner, spoke on the matter, expressing a personal readiness to forgive Smith but emphasizing the necessity of upholding the sanction. Ottosson, who robustly supports the ban, believes that Smith could redeem himself at Hollywood’s biggest event through sustained triumphs, exemplary conduct, and genuine contrition.

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Ottosson also remarked, “Well, I think as a human being, we should forgive. As long as he accepts what he did was wrong. But as a private institution, we have the right to ban something that we do not tolerate. And if we tolerate it, we say this is acceptable. But by giving him a punishment, we don’t accept it.” A report from Irish Star also states that even achieving “exceptional things” in the film won’t sway the academy’s leadership away from their original verdict to ban him.