Will Smith’s ‘Ali’ Coming to Paramount+ in Wake of Oscars Slap

Paramount+ is adding dozens of library titles on Friday to start the new month, including Michael Mann’s critically acclaimed Muhammed Ali biopic Ali, starring Will Smith in the title role. By complete coincidence, the movie is arriving on the streaming platform just days after Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the 94th Academy Awards. Rock reportedly referenced Ali in a backstage joke not seen on camera.

Sony Pictures released Ali to theaters on Christmas Day 2001, and the film earned Smith his first Oscar nomination. Jon Voight also earned a Best Supporting Actor nomination for playing journalist Howard Cosell. Ali was available on other streaming platforms in the past and joins the Paramount+ lineup on April 1.

On Sunday night, Smith stormed onstage after Rock joked about his wife Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved hair. He slapped Rock, then walked back to his seat. “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—ing mouth,” Smith yelled twice. The show went silent for a few moments on ABC in the U.S., but it was broadcast live and uncensored on international television networks. Smith was not escorted out of the Dolby Theatre and even delivered a six-minute acceptance speech after he won the Best Actor Oscar for King Richard.

Someone who was backstage at the time of the incident told Vanity Fair journalist Anthony Breznican that Rock’s cheek was “visibly” red. The comedian tried to downplay what happened as “gobsmacked crew and fellow presenters” looked on. Rock “made a joke about one of Will Smith’s other Oscar-nominated roles,” the outlet reported. “One witness said he remarked loudly, ‘That’s the only time you get hit by Muhammad Ali and it doesn’t leave a scratch,’” Breznican reported.

Rock has yet to publicly comment on the incident, and the LAPD confirmed that Rock has chosen against pressing charges. Smith finally apologized directly to Rock in an Instagram statement Monday afternoon. 

“I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris,” Smith wrote. “I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.” 

“I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees, and everyone watching around the world,” the actor continued. “I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us. I am a work in progress.”

In Pinkett Smith’s first Instagram post after the incident, she shared a simple message. “This is a season for healing and I’m here for it,” she wrote. Pinkett Smith was diagnosed with alopecia, an autoimmune condition that causes hair loss and she has spoken about it on Instagram and in her Red Table Talk series.