Will Smith returns to awards stage since the Oscars scandal

Will Smith is finally back in the spotlight. The once beloved actor attended the African American Film Critics Association Awards in Los Angeles on March 1st. This is his first public appearance since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars and people are not happy about it.

After the incident, Smith was banished from Hollywood and the Academy decided that he will no longer be a voting member and would have a 10-year ban as part of his punishment, meaning he can be nominated and even win, but he has to send a representative to accept the trophy on his behalf.

However, it looks the actor is ready to return to the public eye as he received the Beacon Award at the AAFCA awards for his role on the Apple TV+ film, “Emancipation”, and even took the stage to make an acceptance speech:

Emancipation was the most individual difficult film of my entire career, and it is really difficult to transport a modern mind to that time period. It’s difficult to imagine that level of inhumanity.

His presence at the awards and his speech sparked controversy online as Will did not address the Oscars incident at all and some people think that this is something that the actor must do in order to be regain the trust of the public.