The sound of the global slap is still audible.
“Prince of Reggaeton” J Balvin gave an explanation of why he approached Will Smith to collaborate on his latest alien-themed Coachella act in an interview with Rolling Stone. “One of my greatest heroes has always been Will Smith. Clearly. I have a great connection to him,” he said. Balvin specifically expressed sympathy for Smith following the infamous 2022 Oscars slap:
“You cannot judge a person for some mistakes,” he stated.
A representative for Balvin did not respond to Entertainment Weekly’s request for comment right away.
After shouting, “keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth,” 2022 Oscars host Chris Rock made a joke about Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, on stage. Smith then proceeded to smack Rock in the face.
Hollywood was stunned by the performance, and days after the awards, Smith resigned from the Academy after receiving a 10-year suspension.
“If it’s like that, we’re all bad,” Balvin stated to Rolling Stone. “A mistake cannot define who you are.” Rather than pass judgment on Smith after the slap, Balvin told the source, “I felt his pain because I was going through a similar situation when I felt that some part of the world was against me for mistakes.”
Balvin might be alluding to the uproar around the 2021 music video for “Perra,” which was denounced as racist and misogynistic by Colombian Vice President Marta Lucía Ramírez, as well as by a number of fans and colleagues in the business.
“I believe that Will Smith is one of the people who has experienced both darkness and light in public at this time,” Balvin mused. “There was no one better than him,” the man continued, “and my inner child was screaming to have him in my show.”
Following a successful Bad Boys: Ride or Die publicity tour, Smith has returned to the public eye. He also performed a new song at the 2024 BET Awards and costarred with the Italian maestro on “Andrea Bocelli 30: The Celebration” in Tuscany.
Balvin wishes Smith well as he enters a brand-new, optimistic chapter, stating, “I’m excited for his new season right now, too […] I applaud him for starting a new season at the same time as me.
Through his firm Westbrook, Smith is working on several new projects, such as I Am Legend 2, The Council, a Netflix biopic about Nicky Barnes, and Dance in Your Darkest Moments, which will be his first record in almost 20 years. Celebrating the release of Rayo, his sixth studio album including a plethora of features from musicians such as Bad Gyal and Carín León, Balvin is having a blast.