Will Smith to Make First Appearance at Awards Show Since Oscars Slap to Debut New Song
Smith will debut an as-yet-unknown original song at the BET Awards.
Will Smith will make his first in-person appearance at an awards show since the 2022 Academy Awards when he appears at the BET Awards later this week. Smith will appear at the BET Awards not as a nominee, but a performer; he will debut a new, original song at the show. No details about the actual song are yet known. While acting and producing has taken up most of Smith's professional time for years now, he has been getting back on the music side of things, not just writing and producing new material but also showing up to Coachella dressed as one of the Men in Black to hop on stage with J Balvin.
Taraji P. Henson will host the awards. Other performers set to appear include Ice Spice, Sexyy Red, Latto, Lauryn Hill & YG Marley, Tyla, GloRilla, Muni Long, Shaboozey and Victoria Monét, with Tanner Adell. Usher will receive a Lifetime Achievement BET award Presenters include A-listers like Cardi B and Queen Latifah.
"From his start as a rapper to "The Fresh Prince" to being a box office king as one of the Bad Boys, Will Smith is truly a global icon, and we are honored to welcome him back to grace the BET Awards stage," said Connie Orlando, EVP Specials, Music Programming & Music Strategy at BET, in a statement (via Variety). "We look forward to Will adding to yet another defining night for the culture that is not to be missed."
Smith is riding high on the success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which has already earned almost $300 million at the global box office amid a fairly slow year.
In 2022, the same night he won the Academy Award for his performance in King Richard, Smith ran onstage to slap Chris Rock after the comedian -- who was hosting the event -- made a joke at Jada Pinkett-Smith's expense. As a result, Smith resigned his membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and has been banned from appearing at the Oscars for ten years.
