Will Smith says he ‘understands’ if no one goes to see his new movie after Chris Rock slap

American actor Will Smith’s upcoming movie Emancipation will be released in cinemas later this week, his first major work since his infamous Oscars slap in March which led to a backlash.

But the Hollywood star is not expecting moviegoers to forgive and forget so quickly.

“I completely understand if someone is not ready, I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready,” Smith told entertainment reporter Kevin McCarthy of morning show Good Day DC on Monday.

Smith, 54, was promoting the Apple Originals movie, which follows the journey of a man escaping slavery.

Read also: Chris Rock opens up about slap at the Oscars, after Will Smith’s apology

Directed by Antoine Fuqua, it has already drawn acclaim ahead of its limited theatrical release on Friday. It will start streaming globally on Apple TV+ on Dec 9.

It is Smith’s first major release since King Richard (2021), which won him a Best Actor at the Academy Awards in March.

Shortly before Smith won, he had gone on stage to slap presenter Chris Rock for cracking a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, who suffers from alopecia and had shaved her head bald.

The actor apologised and was subsequently banned from attending the awards ceremony for a decade, although he can still be nominated.

“My deepest concern is my team – Antoine has done what I think is the greatest work of his entire career,” he said. “The people on this team have done some of the best work of their entire careers and my deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalise my team. At this point, that’s what I’m working for.”

Fuqua, who helmed thrillers such as Training Day (2001) and Olympus Has Fallen (2013), had defended releasing the film this year instead of waiting for the scandal to blow over.

“The film to me is bigger than that moment,” he said in an interview with Vanity Fair magazine earlier this month.

“Four hundred years of slavery is bigger than one moment. My hope is that people will see it that way and watch the movie, and be swept away with the great performance by Will and all the hard work that the whole crew did.”

On Monday, Smith posted a clip on Instagram of himself on the Emancipation movie set, sitting in the rain with an umbrella, which he said was “one of the most beautiful moments shooting”.