Will Smith’s 1st post-slap film coming

Less than a year after US actor Will Smith shocked millions around the world by slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars, his new film

Emancipation will be released this December, Apple said this week.

The slavery drama was broadly assumed to have been delayed in the wake of Smith’s assault on comedian Rock, which drew widespread condemnation and resulted in Smith being banned from attending the Academy Awards ceremony for 10 years.

But Apple made the surprise announcement that the tainted star’s latest movie will hit theatres on 2 December and begin streaming on Apple TV+ a week later.

The timing means Apple will be able to submit

Emancipation to compete at the Oscars next March, just a year after it made history as the first streamer to win the Oscar for best picture with CODA.

Smith has kept a relatively low profile since that night at the Academy Awards, when he won best actor for his performance in King Richard just minutes after he had marched on stage and hit Rock for making a joke about his wife.

The former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star made a public apology shortly after the incident, and released an emotional social media video about the moment in July, offering to meet with Rock “whenever you’re ready to talk”.

The 54 year old also resigned his membership with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences – although the organisation did not revoke his best actor award, and his decade-long ban from attending the ceremony does not prevent him being nominated for Oscars.

Smith this weekend attended an advance screening of Emancipation hosted with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the US capital Washington.

The movie stars Smith as a fugitive from slavery on a harrowing journey north from Louisiana seeking freedom. –