Michael Bay would still work with Will Smith even after he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars. The fallout of Smith slapping Rock after he made a joke about his wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, continues to make headlines, and the repercussions of the incident have sparked massive uproar in the world and within the Hollywood community. Aside from the slap itself, many celebrities have condemned various aspects of what took place following, from Smith being allowed to stay at the ceremony after committing violence to his standing ovation and cryptic speech when he won the Best Actor Oscar shortly after.
Smith has since resigned from the Academy and after a formal review, has been banned from attending future ceremonies for the next decade. Subsequently, Smith's upcoming starring projects have been uncertain, with films like Fast and Loose and Bad Boys 4 put on hold and the action thriller Emancipation at Apple TV+, scheduled to premiere later this year, yet to announce a release date. While Smith has received overwhelming criticism, many have still shown support for him, including director Bay, who directed Smith in the first two Bad Boys movies.
Bay now gives his thoughts about Smith's outburst at the Oscars in an interview with EW, promoting his latest action thriller movie Ambulance, starring Jake Gyllenhaal. Bay explains that he would be open to working with Smith again, stating, "Absolutely, 100 percent. He's a very even-keeled guy. Very even-keeled." Bay shared his reaction to the slap incident while also acknowledging the exaggeration that people may have on it, choosing instead to focus on more dire events in the world. His statement can be viewed below:
"At first, immediately I'm like, Did this just happen? Then I saw the yell from Will. That's a real Will yell. Will is an amazing fighter. He's studied boxing. First of all, it's wrong to do, no matter what. Let's just get that out there. But when people said, 'Oh, he could have killed him.' No, a slap is different. A punch? Yeah, you can kill someone. Will gave him a slap. I'm thinking, Everyone's talking about this, but you know what? You start thinking about life and it's like, Oh, my God. Because I've been very affected by this Ukrainian war right now. I'm friends with the Klitschko brothers. I've been to Kyiv, I've met with the mayor. And I'm like, you know what? There are babies getting blown up by the hundreds right now and people are so concerned about this. I don't know. To me, it's just like, enough of it. All right, so a dramatic thing happened, but I just think we've got to get our priorities straight."
Both Smith and Bay are two of the most commercially successful Hollywood stars in history, with Bay being known for directing explosive action films such as The Rock, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and the Transformers film series. Many have also shared how Smith's actions during the Oscars were very uncharacteristic of his reputation and demeanor. With Bay having known Smith for a long time, it is understandable that he would have optimism for him while looking at the reality and facts of the situation in a level-headed manner.
It is a shared opinion among many that after weeks of talking about the incident and the Academy finalizing a punishment for Smith, people would like to move on. Despite many of Smith's movies being paused at the moment, Smith is still considered a bankable movie star, and it is likely that within a few years, his career will start to have a semblance of a comeback. That said, the entire incident still begs a lot of questions regarding acceptable conduct and high status, and how it may have lasting ramifications in Hollywood.
Source: EW