Will Smith marks his first public appearance since Oscar controversy in India's Mumbai

|HT|

Actor Will Smith is in India. The Hollywood star was spotted at the Mumbai airport on Saturday with a spiritual person, interacting and smiling while speaking to others. This marks Will Smith's first public appearance since the Oscars slap controversy. He was seen waving to the paparazzi and clicking pictures with his fans at the airport. As per a paparazzo, Will was staying at the JW Marriott Hotel in Juhu and left Mumbai on Saturday. Will has had a long relationship with India and has visited the country multiple times in the past. He's been to the Ganga aarti in Varanasi and even met spiritual leader Sadhguru for his video series. Will Smith was caught in the eye of a massive storm last month after he slapped comedian Chris Rock on the stage of the 94th Academy Awards ceremony. After Chris cracked a joke about Will's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, he walked up to the stage and smacked Chris in his face, shocking millions watching across the world.

A few moments later, Will was crowned Best Actor for his performance in King Richard. The next day, Will took to Instagram to apologise to Chris. “Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally,” he wrote in his note. As the matter blew up, Academy announced they will take action against Will. A couple of weeks later, they announced that Will will be banned from attending any Academy event for the next 10 years, including the Oscars. However, he would still be eligible to get nominated and win an award for his roles. Will accepted the punishment.

All this while, Will was not seen out in the public while Chris continued to hold his stand up comedy shows. Both have refused to speak to the media about the episode.

(Except for the headline and the pictorial description, this story has not been edited by THE DEN staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)