Here's The Reason Will Smith Skipped Out On The Grammys' Hip-Hop Tribute
This year's Grammy Awards featured an incredible hip-hop tribute, put together by QuestLove and featuring among others Queen Latifah, Missy Elliot, Nelly, and Run DMC. However, one hip-hop icon was notably missing: Will Smith. So, just why wasn't he included in the lineup?
To refresh, Smith's infamous Oscars slap came mere moments before a mutual friend of his and Chris Rock, Questlove and his colleagues won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. For what it's worth, Questlove himself has subsequently revealed that, at the time of the incident, he was completely checked out. As he revealed on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," he was fully immersed in a transcendental meditation when everything went down so he genuinely had no idea of what had happened. "I literally was not present for that whole entire moment," he admitted. The Oscar-winner added, "In my mind, they're just doing a sketch, or whatever."
Questlove once again addressed the situation a few days later, via Twitter. "Can we FINNNNNNNALY stop talking about it?" he pleaded. It was pretty clear, then, that he'd moved beyond the ordeal fairly swiftly. However, we can't help but wonder ... was Smith's absence from the hip-hop tribute indicative of the possibility that all isn't right between the two men?
Will Smith's absence was entirely unrelated to the drama
That would be a no!
Possibly in anticipation of viewers wondering if Will Smith's absence had anything to do with what happened at last year's Oscars, Questlove made a point of dispelling the myth before he even went into the event. In fact, speaking with Variety ahead of the event, he revealed that Smith had not only been invited to join in — he'd actually been involved initially. So, what happened? "They started shooting 'Bad Boys 4' this week ... So we had to lose Will," he explained. A classic case of schedules just not aligning. (Whatcha gonna do?) For what it's worth, Questlove also hinted that Smith was one of the artists he most wanted to include, so there's a strong possibility we'll see them working together sometime in the future.
In the meantime, fans of the actor have certainly welcomed the news of a "Bad Boys" return. In response to the video posted by Smith featuring himself and Martin Lawrence sharing the news, countless Instagram users shared their excitement, including a number of celebrity fans. DJ Khaled, for one, wrote, "Let's go !!!!!" Nick Cannon, meanwhile, quipped, "Call it BAD BOYS 4 EVER!!!" Smith might not have been in the Grammys hip-hop tribute, but it's safe to say, he's committed to making his comeback.