"Keep My Wife's Name Out of Your Mouth": Will Smith's TikTok Tease One Year After THAT Oscars Slap

The Oscars stage is meant for glitz, glam, and those golden statues. But for Will Smith, the 94th Academy Awards became a battlefield—literally. Almost a year after the event, the actor seems to be taking a lighter approach, if his recent TikTok is anything to go by.

A Slap That Was Worth a Thousand Words

Will Smith's slap heard around Hollywood occurred after comedian Chris Rock made a wisecrack about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia-stricken mane. "Keep my wife’s name out of your f--king mouth," was the message the "Emancipation" star sent to Rock as the audio cut off, as deciphered by eagle-eyed lipreaders. The incident led to a 10-year Oscars ban for Smith, as reported by New York Post.

From Apologies to Aspirations: The Smiths' Bumpy Road to Reconciliation

In the emotional aftermath, both Will and Jada Pinkett Smith were quick to voice their feelings. Smith apologized in an Instagram post, deeming his actions "unacceptable and inexcusable." Jada, on her Red Table Talk show, weighed in with: “My deepest hope is that these two intelligent, capable men have an opportunity to heal, talk this out, and reconcile.”

TikTok Time: Will’s Wink at a Career Turning Point

Flash forward to now. Smith, 54, took to TikTok and performed a “duet” with user Sam Rossi, who encourages users to "ask an inanimate object what it thinks of you." With 1.6 million views as of last Wednesday, Will intriguingly reaches off-camera to pick up his Best Actor Oscar for "King Richard" and ends the video abruptly—no questions asked.

The TikTok seems to be a clever way of facing the past while also stepping into the future, perhaps a nod to the upcoming 95th Academy Awards hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Will the Awards feel the absence of the actor or have we all moved on?

Whatever the future holds for Will Smith, it’s clear that the world hasn’t forgotten that infamous Oscars moment. But with one Oscar and a TikTok video to his name, maybe, just maybe, the Fresh Prince is staging his comeback one social media post at a time.

Disclaimer: Several parts of the text in this article, including the title, were generated with the help of an AI tool.