Oh no, first it was “Aunt Viv,” then Paul Rodriguez, and now Jamie Foxx. Nowadays it seems like everyone’s gunning for Will Smith, not sure if it’s just a coincidence, or rather the timing of the Oscar’s boycott that he and his wife, Jada, have sparked this year. This time around, it’s Foxx who took shots at Smith and his acting at the American Black Film Festival this past Sunday, regarding Smith’s decision to boycott the Oscars, which Jamie has won in the past.
Apparently Foxx ain’t really feeling how Smith has publicly voiced his disagreement with the lack of respect that the Oscars has repeatedly displayed for Black actors (especially this year, where not one Black actor was nominated for anything). So Foxx did what he does best, spoke out about it and didn’t bite his tongue among the room full of many celebs at the awards show, including Kerry Washington and Pharrell Williams. As Jamie was presenting producer, Will Packer, with the Distinguished ABFF Alumni Award, he had some things he wanted to get off of his chest about Will Smith first and this is what he said:
“All these Oscar talks, I don’t even trip about that. I mean, what’s the big deal? I was sitting at home with my Oscar, like ‘What’s all the hubbub?’
My friend said, “Are you mad?” ‘Um, kind of, but not really.’ I started calling Denzel [Washington], and we just Instagrammed our Oscars together.”
Foxx also clowned Smith for his Nigerian accent that he used in the film, Concussion, and then he followed that up by saying “#WhatsTheBigDeal? #ActBetter” and that’s when the audience laughed and were pretty surprised at the same time.
Foxx further explained this:
“I was with Sidney Poitier just a couple weeks ago, and in 1963 all he asked for was an opportunity to act. That’s all we have to do, opportunity. If you turn the camera on and say ‘OK . . . win an award . . . and action,’ we’ll all have taken, like, 10 steps back. It’s all about the art. Who cares about anything else?”
Well, well, well, it sounds like Jamie Foxx had it out for Will Smith on that day. I’m not sure if there is any tension between the two, but for Foxx to publicly blast the man with his “#ActBetter” statement simply because Smith is standing up for something that Jamie doesn’t think is necessary, seems a lil’ harsh, and it makes you wonder if there is more to this story than we may know. While I do understand part of where Jamie is coming from regarding the Oscars- because I’ve said time and time again that it’s just a trophy and it does not have the power to validate each actors’ ability as an actor- BUT on the other hand, it is just the blatant disrespect that is intentionally being shown by to not just Back actors, but many actors of color, that is really jacked up on the Oscars part and has many frustrated with the organization.
Jamie’s discussion is one that I would have to watch him say live when it airs, because we all know that Jamie always keeps it real, but he may have said these things about Will with more of a joking undertone, like he’s known to do at awards shows. On a side note, I think Will Smith did an incredible job portraying Dr. Omalu Bennett- Nigerian accent and all, but there are some who have disagreed with me on that.
ILOSM family what do you think about what Jamie is saying- Is Will doing the right thing by boycotting the Oscars? Or does Will Smith simply need to ‘act better’ like Jamie Foxx stated?
