Kevin Hart has recently made his appreciation for Will Smith loud and clear. The 94th Academy Awards debacle is something that remains quite fresh in the minds of the people – even today. Nobody can forget the countless headlines that followed in the aftermath of the incident. The criticism was deafening and the consequences of the Oscars slap-gate were thoroughly felt by Smith, who seemed to have received a blow to his career.
With the Oscars having debarred the King Richard actor from attending the event for the next 10 years, many media analysts affirmed that Smith’s influential and compelling stature in Hollywood would suffer for a while, at least for months. In July, the renowned talent also published a video on YouTube which tackled certain questions about the incident and constituted Smith extending his regretful apology to Chris Rock.
Kevin Hart Appreciates Will Smith
While the backlash was scathing at one point, people have slowly, but surely, taken to forgive Will Smith for his mistake. Comedian Kevin Hart acknowledged The Pursuit of Happyness alum in a recent podcast, elaborating the reasons why the actor has completely changed the scene of the Hollywood industry.
Making an appearance on Drink Champs, Hart was asked to choose to between Will Smith and eminent rapper, actor, and filmmaker Ice Cube. The comedian already knew his pick. While both the aforementioned talents are friends – brothers, even – to Kevin Hart, he chose Smith over Ice Cube. Before explaining why, the Me Time actor claimed, “Dark times deserve f–cking great light.”
The statement was seemingly alluding to the much-controversial slap-gate. Hart continued to corroborate why exactly Smith is a significant figure in Hollywood. According to the Jumanji alum, the famed actor has created, shaped, and defined a platform, an astounding space for Black actors and creatives within the industry. It was Will Smith’s efforts that led many mainstream movie-producing studios to incorporate “more leads of color” in their endeavors.
Read more: Kevin Hart’s Message for His Kids: “Don’t do drugs but if you do do it, do it with Snoop Dogg”
Here’s what Kevin Hart said:
“I’mma say Will Smith, and here’s why… Will Smith is a f–kin’ — he’s not only a legend, he’s not only a GOAT… Will Smith is the reason why the idea of African Americans attached to global IP is normal … Studios took the gamble on more leads of color because of the work that Will Smith, [and] Denzel were doing in the beginning, right?”
Furthermore, the comedian substantiated why he won’t “act like” Will Smith hasn’t been an esteemed personality with a staggering legacy to account for. Simply put, in Kevin Hart’s words, the Bad Boys actor is “that guy.”
Hart also had his fair share of opinions on the Oscars fiasco that jarred the pre-existing perceptions everyone seemed to possess when it came to Will Smith.
Kevin Hart Asks The World To Step Out Of The Drama
Hart’s opinions on the Oscars slap-gate is mainly concerned with the audience’s reaction and reception to it. According to the comedian, the matter only concerns the parties involved, not the entire world. Relying on parasocial interactions would restrict both Chris Rock and Will Smith from recovering from the incident.
Furthermore, Kevin Hart affirmed that humans make mistakes and they “should be allowed time to f–ckin’ recover” from said mistakes. They must heal and learn from such situations without worldly disturbances. Take a look at the full quote:
“People make mistakes, and from mistakes, they should be allowed time to fuckin’ recover … This is no longer the world’s problem, it’s Will and Chris’s problem. Let them deal with that. The world should step out of it and let them recover.”
There are no doubts that Hart is speaking on a factual basis here. Will Smith has been held accountable for his actions and the criticisms that were directed at him seemed to have been taken into consideration by the actor. In his apology video, Smith stated that he spent the months after the fiasco reflecting on his actions and introspecting on his Oscars behavior. Additionally, he had affirmed that not a single part of him believes what he did at the moment was justifiable.
While the apology is only for Chris Rock to accept, fans and the mass audience should not delve deep into the nitty-gritty of the situation constantly. As asserted by Kevin Hart, it’s about time both Will Smith and Chris Rock are given the space to deal with what occurred in March.
Me Time, starring Kevin Hart, is available for streaming on Netflix.
Source: Drink Champs
