Will Smith ‘humbled’ after winning first major gong since Oscars slap at NAACP Image Awards

Will Smith did not attend the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday night (Picture: Getty Images)

Will Smith has bounced back after the Oscars slap, winning his first big award since the infamous incident. 

It’s almost a year since the Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor, 54, shocked the world when he stormed the stage at the Academy Awards and slapped Chris Rock across the face for joking about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith. 

Shortly after the incident, Smith went on to win the best actor Oscar for King Richard, the biopic about Serena and Venus Williams’ father. Since then, Smith has gradually picked up the pieces of his career and tarnished reputation but Emancipation was noticeably snubbed from the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards nominations lists. 

Now, as the first anniversary of the Oscars slap approaches, the actor has been honoured again, receiving an accolade at the NAACP Image Awards on Saturday night. 

Smith won the outstanding actor award for his performance in Apple TV+ film Emancipation, which sees him star as Peter, an enslaved man who flees a plantation and fights to continue evading his hunters. 

The I Am Legend star did not attend the awards last night, but singer and actress Janelle Monae told the audience: ‘Will Smith could not be with us this evening. So we accept this on your behalf. Congratulations.’

Janelle Monae accepted Smith’s outstanding actor award on his behalf (Picture: Getty Images)

Smith shocked the world when he slapped Chris Rock on-stage at the Oscars in 2022 (Picture: AFP, Getty Images)

Smith is gradually getting his career back together after the incident (Picture: Getty Images)

Smith later acknowledged the win on social media, writing in an Instagram post: ‘WOW!! NAACP!! I am absolutely humbled by this!! I want to share this with my entire #Emancipation family – @antoinefuqua, @charmainebingwa, Ben, Bob, Jon the whole team at @westbrook and @appletvplus… I am so proud of the work we put into this film.

‘I would like to thank the NAACP for honoring our film! @derricknaacp – you and your entire organization – and the work you do all year round – is truly important, so to be recognized by y’all – it means a lot.’ 

Showing he was watching from home, Smith wrote: ‘Also – can we give my girl @queenlatifah her flowers? She is KILLIN’ it as host tonight!’ 

Just last week, Smith appeared to make light of the Oscars incident in a clip where he reacted to a TikToker’s viral video, in which she encouraged people to ask objects what they think of their owners. 

After nodding along to the video, Smith picked up his Oscar and held it up to the camera with a concerned look on his face, no doubt a nod to the fact the trophy – if it weren’t an inanimate object – would have a pretty low opinion of him after witnessing him hit Rock, 58.

It was recently reported that this year’s Oscars producers have put a ‘crisis team’ on standby in case of any ‘potential surprises’ like last year’s ceremony. 

Other notable winners at this year’s NAACP Image Awards include Angela Bassett for entertainer of the year, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever for outstanding motion picture.

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The NAACP Image Awards took place on Saturday night.