After Will Smith Earned His First Best Actor Award Since the Oscars, Nothing Weird Happened, and Everyone is OK with That

Even if Antoine Fuqua’s Emancipation had achieved the massive success many predicted upon its announcement, it wouldn’t have mattered much for star Will Smith. That is because he would still not be eligible to receive a Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards.

The slavery drama’s lack of success with the critics and its failure to ignite a culture-wide conversation like other successful prestige pictures have done, squashed any thought of an immediate return for the one-time superstar. There is no need to explain why.

US actor Will Smith holds his award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for “King Richard” as he attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party following the 94th Oscars at the The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California on March 27, 2022. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP)

Smith has scheduled Bad Boys 4 as his next production and an extended sequel to a successful franchise is certainly one of the most reliable ways to gain admiration. Despite this, he hasn’t been overlooked for Emancipation – Smith was rewarded with a Best Actor award at the NAACP Image Awards, receiving recognition after so many years.

Thankfully, the ceremony passed without any embarrassing gaffes or jokes made at Smith and Chris Rock’s expense. Host Queen Latifah needn’t have been so nervous as Richard was not present to accept his prize in person. Recently poking fun of the Oscars fiasco on TikTok, King Richard decided that he did not feel it necessary to appear for his award, allowing him to win awards without stealing headlines due to negative publicity.