Did Will Smith get punished enough, or did Hollywood forgive him the moment he made them money again?

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Will Smith slapped Chris Rock in front of 16.6 million viewers and won Best Actor less than an hour later. Then came the bill: a 10-year Oscars ban, a $120 million movie pushed into limbo, Netflix projects cancelled, and a $426 million franchise put on hold.

2 years later, Bad Boys: Ride or Die made over $100 million worldwide in its first weekend.

In the video below, the uncensored moment from the Oscars stage, from the joke to the slap to what Will shouted from his seat.

March 27, 2022. Chris Rock makes a “G.I. Jane 2” joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head. Jada has alopecia.

Will walks up and slaps him. Back in his seat, he yells at Rock to keep his wife’s name out of his mouth.

Minutes later he wins the Oscar for King Richard.

Within 2 weeks he resigned from the Academy. The Academy banned him from every event for 10 years.

Apple had spent $120 million on Emancipation, a slavery-era thriller meant to be its Oscar contender. It sat in limbo for months.

Netflix cancelled a sequel and a stand-up series with him. A Disney+ documentary was postponed. Sony took Bad Boys 4 off active development. Bad Boys for Life had just made $426.5 million.

In July he posted a 5-minute apology to camera.

Then he went quiet. No interviews, barely any social media.

June 2024. Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens at No. 1. A $100 million budget, over $100 million worldwide in one weekend, the biggest R-rated opening since Oppenheimer.

One slap froze a $426 million franchise. 2 years later it opened at No. 1 anyway.

Did Will Smith get punished enough, or did Hollywood forgive him the moment he made them money again?

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