The recent Oscars incident involving Will Smith has turned the once-lauded reputation of the actor a little bit sour, one would think that directors that are looking for cast members in future projects would be put off by such shenanigans. Well, frequent collaborator, Michael Bay has said that he would be happy to work with Will Smith again on a future film, even after the actor slapped Chris Rock in front of millions of people.
Michael Bay has recently been promoting his new film Ambulance, and during an interview for the film, he was asked about the Will Smith incident and whether he would work with the actor again. Smith has resigned from the Academy following the incident and has also been banned from attending future ceremonies for the next 10 years. Smith has received overwhelming criticism because of his actions, the actor’s upcoming projects have also been left uncertain, with films like Fast and Loose and Bad Boys 4 being put on hold, and the Apple TV+ action thriller Emancipation, which is due to be released this year, still not getting a specific release date.
When asked the question in the recent interview, Bay said “Absolutely, 100 percent. He’s a very even-keeled guy. Very even-keeled”. Bay also spoke about how the incident has been exaggerated by many people out there, instead choosing to focus on more dire events that are happening in the world right now. Bay went on to say, “At first, I was like, did that just happen? Then I saw the yell and knew it was real. First of all, it’s wrong to do, but when people said, ‘Oh, he could have killed him.’ No, a slap is different, a punch can kill someone.” Bay added “Everyone is talking about this, but you know what? You begin to think about life, and I’ve been very affected by this Ukrainian war right now. I’ve been to Kyiv, and I’m like, you know what? There are babies getting blown up right now and people are so concerned about this incident. A dramatic thing happened but I just think we’ve got to get our priorities straight first”.
These are two extremely different events that just can’t be compared with one another, but we see what Bay is trying to say here. And anyway, Smith is still a bankable movie star, and even with these current projects being put on hold, you would think that his career will soon start to have something of a comeback, but I’m sure these words of encouragement from one friend to another will go a long way.
