J Balvin has revealed that he felt a connection with Will Smith after the actor’s infamous slapping incident at the 2022 Oscars – see what the Colombian pop star had to say below.
In a new chat with Rolling Stone, Balvin revealed that 2022 was a tough year for both Smith and himself – he had heavily been scrutinised for the controversial late 2021 ‘Perra’ video, which was considered racist and misogynistic.
Will Smith’s slap on Chris Rock for making a distasteful joke about his estranged wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith at the 2022 Oscars – where he won Best Actor – resulted in a 10-year ban from the Academy and heavy judgement from the public.
J Balvin said to Rolling Stone about their similar situations, and his decision to bring Smith onstage at Coachella earlier this year: “Will Smith has always been one of my biggest idols. Period. I feel really connected with him. You cannot judge a person for some mistakes. A mistake cannot define who you are because if it’s like that, we all are bad.”
He continued: “[With] what happened with Will Smith, I felt his pain because I was going through a similar situation when I felt that some part of the world was against me for mistakes. I think if there’s someone that has been through darkness and light publicly at this moment, it’s Will Smith. My inner child was screaming to have him in my show because there was no one better than him.”
Reflecting on the performance, Balvin said: “You can just never forget that. And I’m happy right now for his new season, too. As I’m having a new season, he’s having his new season and I salute that.”
Smith’s “new season” that Balvin alludes to is in reference to the actor making his comeback musically this year – he has released several singles this year, and is expected to release the album ‘Dance In Your Darkest Moments’ before the year is done.
The fourth instalment of the Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys: Ride Or Die, came out in June. In a two-star review, NME wrote: “Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are on the beat once more with Bad Boys: Ride or Die – a noisy, unfunny fourth instalment that’s only made endurable by some raucous action scenes.”
