Will Smith found himself back in the hot seat Wednesday (August 13) after a 2016 interview clip resurfaced online, racking up more than eight million views overnight and reigniting debate over his past and present views on violence.
In the viral throwback, originally recorded by The Hollywood Reporter, Smith explained why he passed on the lead role in Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, citing a clash in vision with the director.
While he was initially on board, Smith said the film’s focus on revenge didn’t sit right with him.
“We sat for hours and hours and hours about it. I love it, I wanted to make that movie so badly, but with that story, I felt the only way I could make that movie is it had to be a love story, not a vengeance story,” Smith said in the clip.
“I don’t believe in violence as the reaction to violence,” he added. “It has to be for love… violence begets violence.”
Will Smith on turning down DJANGO UNCHAINED: "For me I just couldn't connect to violence being the answer." pic.twitter.com/xlPllvpka7
— Todd Spence (@Todd_Spence) August 13, 2025
That stance didn’t age well in the eyes of many online, especially after Smith’s now-infamous slap at the 94th Academy Awards.
Social media users wasted no time pointing out the contradiction between his anti-violence comments and his onstage assault of Chris Rock during the 2022 Oscars.
One user wrote, “‘…and that’s when I decided to slap the s### out of Chris Rock.'” Another chimed in, “He can smack a n#### publicly but he can’t kill a slavemaster.”
A third added, “This bums me out because I think he was in the right for slapping Chris Rock and I wish he applied that same logic towards revolution.”
Will Smith Says “Love Will Make You Do Crazy Things” After Oscars Slap
The slap, which occurred during Rock’s presentation for Best Documentary Feature, was in response to a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved head, a result of her alopecia diagnosis.
Smith went on to win Best Actor for King Richard later that night.
Ironically, during his acceptance speech, Smith said, “Love will make you do crazy things.”
The original Django Unchained role eventually went to Jamie Foxx, who starred alongside Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz in the 2012 film