Months before his career would witness a steep decline following the Slap-Gate incident at the 2022’s Oscars, Will Smith had a horrific vision regarding his career. The last few years have been tumultuous times for the Oscar winner, as the consequences of slapping Chris Rock have severely impacted the actor’s legacy, while also shedding light on his controversial marriage with Jada Pinkett.
However, the events leading to the infamous incident do give an insight into the mindset of the King Richard star at the time, as the actor did envision his career falling apart.
Will Smith envisioned his career’s downfall not long before the 2022 Oscars
Following his presence in David Letterman’s My Next Guest Needs No Introduction, two months prior to the Oscars, Will Smith opened up about using the South American Hallucinogenic plant ayahuasca. Although the actor clarified that he doesn’t normally use drugs for recreational purposes, his experience under the influence of the psychoactive herbal brew wasn’t pleasant. Recounting his experience, Smith claimed he could see his career and money flying away, while he could hear his daughter Willow Smith calling him. He explained,
“It’s like I start seeing all of my money flying away, and my house is flying away, and my career is going away. My whole life is getting destroyed. Then slowly, I stopped caring about my money, I just wanted to get to Willow. I stopped caring about my house, I stopped caring about my career,”
Unfortunately for Smith, it wasn’t too far from the aftermath of slapping Chris Rock, as his reputation as one of the leading men in Hollywood was hugely affected by the incident.
Will Smith used comedy as a defense mechanism to deal with his past trauma
Even before his career took a hit in 2022, Will Smith did keep on battling his inner demons, claiming “I’ve always thought of myself as a coward.” Continuing his interview with David Letterman, the actor admitted he started using comedy as a defense mechanism, explaining negativity cannot exist within one’s body when they’re laughing. And considering witnessing his father assaulting his mother left a traumatic impression on a young Will Smith, comedy was the key that helped him cope with it. He said,
“Ultimately ‘Will Smith’ became a symbol of joy and fun, and when I showed up, I wanted people to be happy, because I found that when my household was that way, I felt safe.”
Since the slap-gate incident, the last year saw Will Smith coming forward to make amends with Chris Rock and apologizing to his fans for letting them down. Although it did take a toll on his career, Smith hasn’t backed away from being the fun person he is, thus accepting and moving past his mistakes.
Source: My Next Guest Needs No Introduction
