Will Smith Sounds-Off on Oscars Slap Controversy on His New Album

Will Smith just dropped “Based on a True Story,” his first new solo album in 20 years, and he’s not shying away from his Oscars controversy in the lyrics.

Smith shocked the Academy Awards audience in 2022 when he slapped Chris Rock onstage over a joke about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s hair. Jada suffers from alopecia, reportedly unbeknownst to Chris at the time. As Will returned to his seat, he shouted, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f**king mouth!”

After the heated moment, Will was awarded the Oscar for Best Actor for “King Richard.”

Right out of the gate, Will addresses the controversy in the first song on his album, “Int. Barbershop — Day,” as voices gossip about the Grammy winner.

Lyrics include, “Will Smith is canceled,” and, “You can’t cancel no icon.”

The chatter continues, “Who the f**k Will Smith think he is?” and, “I ain’t never going to forgive him for that sh*t he did.”

Another line in the song, says, “I heard he won the Oscar, but he had to give it back / And you know they only made him do that sh*t because he’s Black.”

In truth, Will did not have to return his Oscar, but he was penalized. He resigned from the Academy and was banned from all Academy events for 10 years.

He goes on to rap, “Him and Jada both crazy, girl, what you talkin’ bout?/ You better keep his wife’s name out of your mouth.”

On the second track, “You Lookin’ for Me?,” he raps, “Took a lot, I’m back on top / Y’all gon’ have to get acclimated / Won’t stop, my sh*t still hot / Even though I won’t get nominated.” 

Technically, Will could still be nominated for an Oscar.

He also touches on his headline-making marriage, saying, “Personal life with my wife / Mind your business / It’s complicated.”

Months after the Oscars slap, “Extra” spoke with Will at the “Emancipation” premiere.

Sharing a moment from the film, he said of his character, “He puts his hand up and he praises God, in the middle of the hell, that he is living. I love that that moment, that moment has helped me. You want to learn to even be grateful for your difficulties, there is a relationship between suffering and salvation… We hate that that’s the case, but your suffering is where you get your wisdom from, your suffering is where you find your way, so Peter has been really helpful to me.”

Back in May, Will also opened up to “Extra” about making new music while promoting, “Bad Boys: Ride or Die.”

He shared, “You know, I've been, this last year and a half, I've been in the lab. I have a project that is, you know, without question, the most personal and powerful music that I've ever made. So, you know, I'm going to sneak that out on you in a month or so.”