After apologies and meeting Sadhguru, Will Smith takes the Oscar Slap joke on himself in TikTok video

Will Smith’s tendency to deliver blockbusters and his “family man” charm elevated his stardom to the levels of A-listers like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, or even someone like Shah Rukh Khan if we are to find a more domestic example. But, of course, all of that came crashing down with that fateful Oscar night of March 27, 2022.

The memories of Will Smith slapping comedian Chris Rock are still fresh.

Both personalities still have their legion of fans debating the morals of the slap to the very last detail. Even Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett-Smith, whose illness led to the very joke that caused the slap, continues to be the subject of much ire for online observers (including a large chunk of “meninists” and “incels”) who believe that she is the one who pulls the Men In Black star’s strings. 

The slap obviously overshadowed Smith’s own win for Best Actor at last year’s Oscars, with the actor tearfully picking up the trophy for playing an overprotective family man (not himself) in King Richard. But now, over 11 months since the incident, Smith has finally moved on with a self-deprecating TikTok video. 

What is the TikTok about? 

As TikTok is still banned in India, Smith thankfully also uploaded the video on his Instagram. Intended as a reply to to TikTok user @missmoneyworking’s video on talking to inanimate objects, the clip finds Smith looking at his Oscar stautette, hoping that it talks back to him. 

The arguably humorous clip finds Smith carefully listening to @missmoneyworking saying, “Did you know that you can pick any object, look at it, and ask it what it thinks of you?”

Following her advice, Smith picks up his Oscar with a confused look on his face. Eventually, he just gives up and cluelessly stares at the camera.

What are we to make of this TikTok?

All in all, posting the TikTok is an interesting segue towards a more self-aware conversation on the whole slap controversy. Smith has made enough apologies. Maybe, this finally implies that it is time for him to keep quiet and just take the joke on himself. 

His acceptance speech from last year did come off as self-indulgent and as a justification for his act by many. With time, Smith seemed to be genuinely sorry for the slap while Chris Rock also carried on with his comedic tours, telling the media that he had been dealing with the incident privately. 

Will we get another Will Smith joke at this year’s Oscars?

Regular Oscar host Jimmy Kimmel has already referenced the slap in the promo for this year’s ceremony. And even Oscar’s close relatives have borne witness to some chuckle-inducing callbacks.

ALSO READ: I woke up at 6.30 am to watch the Golden Globes on a cold Delhi morning and here is how it went

At this year’s Golden Globes, Eddie Murphy’s acceptance speech for the Cecil B DeMille award ended with some life-changing advice, 

Similarly, Richard E Grant also managed to crack a slap joke at the 2023 BAFTA ceremony. “Nobody on my watch gets slapped tonight,” Grant said while slapping himself and making the audience laugh.

It is fairly normal for people to expect either Kimmel or one of the Oscar presenters this year to deliver the best slap jokes that they have!

What else has post-slap Will Smith been doing?

Despite being banned from attending the Oscars for a decade, Smith’s future performances could still qualify for being nominated. The Oscar winner’s next project after King Richard was the highly-polarising Emancipation that released on Apple TV+ last December.

The action thriller narrating the trials and tribulations of a runaway slave was met with positive reactions for Smith’s performance but the graphic violence and the historical handling of slavery made Emancipation a disappointment. Smith’s emotional and socio-politically relevant performance could have been easy “Oscar bait” but the Academy was clearly not impressed.

Will Smith also met Sadhguru after the slap

A month after the slap, Smith was also spotted in India for a few days where he reportedly met the spiritual celebrity Sadhguru. Sadhguru and Smith’s friendship is no secret as the former has also visited the Hollywood star’s house during his visit to the States in 2020.

Since the Oscars, the founder of Isha Foundation has openly supported Smith, calling him a wonderful human being and justifying the slap as a mistake that happened in the heat of the moment. 

For those who are still amused with Sadhguru joining the conversation, the man has several American personalities as friends, with some “crossover episodes”. Not just Will Smith, even Matthew McConaughey, Jake Paul, Stevie Wonder, and Ozzy Osbourne are fans of his! 

Well, seems like the meet with Sadhguru helped Will Smith take the joke on himself!