In an unintentionally meta moment, the new action comedy Bad Boys: Ride or Die features a scene that may remind viewers of Will Smith’s controversial slap of Chris Rock at last year’s Academy Awards. The fourth installment of the buddy cop franchise sees Smith’s character Mike Lowrey on the receiving end of some forceful slaps from his partner Marcus Burnett, played by Martin Lawrence.
The sequence in question occurs when Lowrey suffers a panic attack during a high-stakes situation. To snap him out of it, Burnett repeatedly strikes Lowrey across the face in a moment played for laughs. However, the physical altercation can’t help but evoke memories of Smith storming the Oscars stage in 2022 to slap Rock after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s shaved hairdo.
In the immediate aftermath, Smith returned to his seat and shouted “Keep my wife’s name out of your f***ing mouth!” twice at a visibly stunned Rock. The shocking confrontation overshadowed Smith’s best actor win later that night for his role in King Richard.
The slap reverberated through Hollywood, with Smith facing widespread condemnation, though he did receive support from some peers. He has apologized numerous times, resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and was banned from attending the Oscars for 10 years, though he can still be nominated and win.
While clearly unintentional, the similarity between Bad Boys’ slap scene and Smith’s real-life outburst adds an unavoidable layer of meta-commentary to the new film. It remains to be seen whether mainstream audiences will find the choreographed punch lines insensitive in light of the notorious incident that tarnished both Smith’s reputation and the 94th Academy Awards.
In a recent interview with Jimmy Fallon, Smith and Lawrence reminisced about some of the wildest stunts from across the Bad Boys franchise’s 25-year history. Smith revealed the production’s prior “safety third” philosophy enabled unrestrained insanity, like a 120 mph causeway stunt in Bad Boys II that nearly ended in disaster.
However, the 54-year-old leading man assured “safety first” is now the policy on set. Whether intentional or not, having Smith’s character slapped repeatedly on camera seems an odd creative choice in the harsh spotlight of the Oscar slap’s aftermath.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die explodes into theaters this Friday, June 7th.
