Will Smith's Award Show Comeback At The 2025 Grammy's Was Even Worse Than We Expected
Will Smith is officially back to awards show programming-as-usual but that in itself is a little awkward. Instead of addressing his last major awards show mishap — the infamous Oscars slap — at the 2025 Grammys, the actor opted instead to not mention it at all. Smith previously appeared at the 2024 BET Awards, but it was for a musical performance, rather than to deliver a speech. As such, the Grammys marked the "Men in Black" star's return to actually speaking on stage, and he did so as part of a tribute to Quincy Jones, who died aged 91 in 2024.
During Smith's speech, he gushed over Jones' role in the early days of his career, and even recalled how the iconic producer once instructed Smith "It is your job to take care of these people" (via Today), referring to those the actor and rapper works closely with. Of course, it's possible that Smith decided not to talk about the Oscars scandal because of how many times he's already addressed the situation in the time since. In addition to a written apology posted to Instagram the day after the slap, Smith also issued a contrite video a few months later.
In it, the Oscar winner apologized not only to Chris Rock directly but also to his family as well. Likewise, Smith's BET Awards appearance saw him perform his redemption anthem, "You Can Make It," live on stage. Smith's dramatic comeback cracked the internet in half, with many praising his obvious remorse, while others argued that the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star's downfall was entirely his own doing. With that in mind, perhaps Smith simply didn't want to harp on the issue any longer. Regardless, online critics nonetheless had a field day.
Many fans were upset about Will Smith's inclusion at the Grammys
Unfortunately, many social media users made it clear that they were unhappy with Will Smith appearing at the 2025 Grammys at all. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, one critic admitted simply, "Turned off when Will Smith showed up." "Who tf let Will Smith into the Grammys?" questioned another. A third user kicked off a satirical train of comments about all the people Smith had "slapped" at the Grammys. "Will Smith just slapped Cowboy Carter," they quipped, mentioning in additional posts that he'd also "slapped" Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder and the California fires, among others.
On the other hand, there were plenty of people who celebrated the "Wild Wild West" star's appearance at music's biggest night, including Chris Rock's friend Stephen A. Smith. In his eponymous YouTube show, the TV personality pointed out that he'd initially been shocked by Smith's inclusion, and reiterated his disappointment in the actor. However, Smith also disclosed that several of his A-list friends, including Charlie Mack, had reached out to him to argue that the "Bad Boys" star, like anyone else, deserved grace — particularly because Smith hasn't held back his emotions over the controversy.
"None of us want to be measured by our worst moment," Smith acknowledged, adding that Rock was keen to move on from it all too. Likewise, sources also confirmed the comedian is done sharing his take on the infamous slap. Once again, the comments section was divided, with some agreeing wholeheartedly and others still resistant to the idea of a redemption arc for Smith. Ultimately, it seems the incident will forever be a stain on the actor's reputation, so it's unsurprising that his return to the awards show circuit wasn't met with unanimous applause.