Will Smith always appears before the cameras with a smile and a kind gesture; However, at the 2022 Oscar gala, the actor lost the role with a joke that Chris Rock made about the baldness of Jada Pinkett-Smith, his wife, and showed a face that was not known to him, a much less pleasant one.
At the ceremony, Smith slapped the comedian, whom he later yelled at on air for mocking his wife, the Matrix actress, about her baldness. “Get my wife's name out of your mouth,” said an enraged Will Smith, only calmed down by the intervention of his colleague, veteran Denzel Washington.
In images captured by the press agencies that covered the event, it can be seen that, during the commercial break, Chris Rock tried to calm down Will Smith, who was enraged in his seat, along with Jada Pinkett-Smith. It is there that Denzel Washington approaches the couple.
Denzel Washington seems to mediate between the comedian and the actor, who is also supported by his colleague, Aunjanue Ellis, who plays Oracene, the mother of tennis players Venus and Serena, in "King Richard."
In other agency shots, you can see how Denzel manages to calm down Will Smith, who returns to his seat to continue with the ceremony, already with a better face.
What did Denzel tell him and why does Will Smith respect him?
Minutes later, when Will Smith is announced as the 2022 Oscar winner for best actor for “King Richard”, in his speech he mentions one of the phrases his partner said to reassure him.
"I know that to do what we do you have to be able to take abuse, to have a crazy talk about you, to have to be disrespected and you have to laugh like everything is fine," said the actor, who Denzel tells something that cannot be understood in front of cameras. "Thank you, D," Will Smith replies, then narrates: "Denzel told me a few minutes ago: 'at your highest point, be careful because that's when the devil comes for you.'"
It is known that Denzel Washington is considered a legend within Hollywood and is, especially, a benchmark for African-American actors, since in his career he has managed to overcome various prejudices: he has been nominated 10 times for the Academy Awards and has won 2 occasions. However, his story with Will Smith is special.
At the recent SAG gala, Smith, 53, won the award for best actor, which already predicted his triumph at other galas, and Washington, 67, was one of those who celebrated his achievement the most, because, According to Smith in an interview with "People", he had predicted that this 2022 would be the year in which he would win his first Oscar.
In the aforementioned magazine, Smith delved into the long friendship he has with Washington, whom he considers a "mentor" as well as a friend.
“When I won at the SAGs, Denzel hugged me and told me that he was so happy for me and that he loved the person he was turning me into. He and I have spent a lot of time together and we've talked a lot. He has always been a mentor to me. He told me this year was my year," Smith said.
“Denzel and I have known each other for a long time. I go to him when I need advice, so he has seen my progress over time. He says that he is very happy to see who I have become and that (when I achieve new things) it is as if he feels that a weight is being lifted off his shoulders, ”added the actor, who, indeed, is considered a successor to Denzel Washington
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