Jason Merritt/Getty Will Smith
Will Smith is returning to show business and into the spotlight.
The Los Angeles Lakers announced Wednesday that the 54-year-old actor, who has remained silent following the Oscar controversy in March, visited the team as part of Lakers Talent Talk. The event is an annual conference where celebrities talk to the team for inspiration.
The Oscar winner received the Lakers’ No. 14 jersey and posed for photos with the team and team owner Jenny Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka. According to the Lakers, the actor talked about the “power that comes from being united and practicing gratitude when faced with great challenges.”
The team is currently in the midst of a losing season.
Smith’s message is said to have been “inspired by a theme from his upcoming masterpiece film, liberation. “
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Smith also shared a photo of the team, writing on Instagram: “Give @Lakers a sneak peek #Emancipation and a great session for their genius franchise…Thanks to everyone who came here! Next stop… …my @six.”
Earlier this month, Apple Original Films released the official trailer for the film, in which Smith plays a man who escapes slavery and begins his quest for freedom.
At a screening of the film in early October, Smith elaborated on the film’s theme and its message.
“Throughout my career, I’ve turned down a lot of films set in slavery,” Smith said at the screening. This hollywood reporter“I never wanted to show us that. And then this picture came along. It’s not a movie about slavery. It’s a movie about freedom. It’s a movie about resilience. It’s a movie A film about faith. It’s a “movie about a man’s heart — arguably the first viral image.” The camera had just been created and the image of the whipped Peter spread around the world. “
RELATED VIDEO: How Smith will slap Chris Rock at the Oscars – and the aftermath – unfolds
It was his first film at the 94th Academy Awards, and he slapped Chris Rock in front of a live audience after the comedian made fun of his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.
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And that night Smith won the Best Actor Award for his work. king richard After the performance, he resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and was eventually banned from Academy events for ten years after the incident.
Smith won Best Actor at the BET Awards in June, but did not attend the event.
