Will Smith Wins Best Actor at 2022 BET Awards, ‘King Richard’ Costars Weigh In on His State of Mind After Oscars Scandal
27.06.2022 - 20:45
/ usmagazine.com
Three months after Will Smith raised eyebrows for slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, the actor scored big for his role in King Richard at the 2022 BET Awards.
Smith, 53, who did not attend the awards show on Sunday, June 26, won best actor for the sports film based on Richard Williams. The Pennsylvania native’s costars Mikayla Bartholomew and Saniyya Sidney offered an update on Smith amid the controversy.
“Every time I talk to him, he always says everything is in divine splendor, ya know, so he’s good,” Bartholomew, who played Tunde Price, told Entertainment Tonight on Sunday. “It’s always good to chat with him.”
Sidney, for her part, was proud of how much King Richard accomplished since its debut late last year. “Our film was very special to us and Venus [Williams] and Serena [Williams] changed so many women’s lives, our lives,” the actress, who played Venus, said.
Earlier this year, Smith made headlines when he was involved in an altercation at the 94th annual Academy Awards. While presenting an award, Rock, 57, made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith‘s shaved head. The Girls Trip star, 50, who has been candid about her alopecia diagnosis, rolled her eyes at the comment. In response, her husband walked on stage and slapped the comedian.
“Will Smith just smacked the s—t out of me,” the South Carolina native said in censored footage that later circulated online. As the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air alum returned to his seat, he was heard yelling at Rock to “keep my wife’s name out your f—king mouth.”
Smith went on to use his acceptance speech for the best actor award at the Oscars as a platform to apologize. “Oh, man. Richard Williams was a fierce defender of his family,” he said during the emotional speech, shortly after winning for