Will Smith is set to make a notable appearance at the 67th Annual GRAMMY Awards as a presenter, which will be his first major awards show appearance following the controversial incident at the 2022 Academy Awards where he slapped Chris Rock.
The Recording Academy shared in a press release that the renowned artist, who has won four Grammy Awards, will be joining a lineup of esteemed musicians including Olivia Rodrigo, Cardi B, Taylor Swift, Victoria Monét, and others as presenters at the upcoming event on Feb. 2.
Although Smith will not be taking the stage to perform, he revealed his plans to release a new album titled “Based on a True Story” in March, marking his first album since 2005.
This appearance will be the first major awards show Smith has attended since 2022, when he stormed the stage to slap Rock for making jokes about his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
The shocking moment was prefaced by Smith yelling at Rock on stage from his front-row seat at the Oscars, “Keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth!”
Smith went on to win the first Academy Award of his career for King Richard that evening. But he was swiftly banned from attending all Academy events, including the Oscars, for a whopping ten years.
In a statement, the Academy condemned Smith’s actions and apologized for not responding “adequately”at the time.
“The 94th Oscars were meant to be a celebration of the many individuals in our community who did incredible work this past year; however, those moments were overshadowed by the unacceptable and harmful behavior we saw Mr. Smith exhibit on stage,” the Academy said, per Variety.
They continued, “During our telecast, we did not adequately address the situation in the room. For this, we are sorry. This was an opportunity for us to set an example for our guests, viewers and our Academy family around the world, and we fell short — unprepared for the unprecedented.”
The Emancipation actor also resigned from the Academy after the event. Despite the ban, he is still eligible to be nominated and win an Academy Award, though he cannot accept it in person.
The Academy has since created a “crisis team” to manage such events.
But the Recording Academy seems to be welcoming Smith back with open arms as the decorated actor and rapper is pivoting back to music.
The Grammy Awards will air Sunday, Feb. 2 on CBS at 8/7c. It will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
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