Will Smith Says ‘No One Gets Out of Bearing Their Cross’ at ‘Liberation’ Premiere (Exclusive)

Will Smith reflects on the life lessons he’s learned in recent months. The actor made his first red carpet appearance since his infamous Oscar was slapped at the premiere of his new movie Liberation on Wednesday.

Smith spoke with ET’s Kevin Fraser at the event and reflected on how the portrayal of fugitive slaves on the road to freedom and a new life resonated with him over the past few months.

“Peter is in my heart in a beautiful way,” said Smith, whose wife Jada Pinkett-Smith and his children attended the premiere.

“A recognition of the relationship between suffering and salvation, a recognition that no one can help but bear his cross,” he added. “It was a really beautiful, beautiful change.”

This was Smith’s first time speaking to ET since the 2022 Oscars after the comedian joked about Smith’s wife.

Although the slap itself was only a few seconds long, the moment’s repercussions lasted much longer, with many ramifications, including banning Smith from attending the Oscar ceremony for a decade. Award.

There was quite a bit of buzz early on at the Oscars surrounding Smith’s performance in Emancipation.

“As an actor, you’re looking for that moment when you have it. There’s a moment of magic, and you never know if you can have it,” Smith recalled, adding, “The chain around your neck. He added that he found moments of connection with his character when testing

“It was probably six weeks old, so I put it on. They had an old-school replica. He put the key in and it didn’t work and he couldn’t take it off,” Smith said. And then I was actually trapped for about 15 minutes, they were moving around and my mind was going crazy with these chains locked, but suddenly I understood. I tasted what it must have felt like.

“But I had people running around to get it off of me, and Peter didn’t,” Smith added.

“Emancipation” opens in select theaters on December 2nd and debuts on Apple TV+ on December 9th.