A number of upcoming Will Smith projects have been put on hold in the wake of the the 94th Academy Awards during which the King Richard star both won an Oscar and slapped comedian Chris Rock in front of industry peers and millions of viewers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Smith has had a Netflix film and a movie for Sony paused because of the scandal, despite his apology and his resignation from the Academy.
While the public admonished Smith's violent response in defense of his wife Jada Pinkett Smith after Rock made a joke about her alopecia caused baldness, The View conservative co-host Ana Navarro believes the studios are "making a mistake" by halting Smith's projects.
You can see her take here:
Navarro argued his positive reputation maintained for decades shouldn't be dismissed because of one egregious lapse in judgment.
“He’s had over 30 years of a career, where he’s had a very positive image, been a positive role model, he’s been very philanthropic, he’s done all sorts of things," said Navarro.
“None of us should be judged by our worst moment. We should be judged by our entire career."
"And yes, this is going to be with him the rest of his life. It’s going to be in his obituary. This is not going away. But should it define his life? Should it define his career? No, absolutely not."
The Republican political strategist added:
"So I think Netflix and all those are making a mistake, and I hope they reconsider because we should be able to separate his art from what he did.”
Social media users–many of whom agreed with Navarro–weighed in on the discussion.
Some remained skeptical about Smith recovering from the scandal.
Netflix put Smith's film, Fast and Loose, on the back burner in the wake of Slapgate.
The film's story is reportedly centered around a crime boss who loses his memory after an attack and gradually pieces together clues to realize he has led a double life as a wealthy kingpin and a broke CIA agent.
Netflix has not announced if they intend to move forward with another star.
Sony's Bad Boys 4–for which Smith received 40 pages of the script prior to the Oscars–is now paused, according to an inside source.
Apple TV+’s Emancipation starring Smith is in postproduction. However, Apple has not set a release date for the drama, even though it was planned for a 2022 debut.
