Will Smith will appear in the upcoming season of David Letterman’s Netflix series My Guest Needs No Introduction, which premieres on May 20.
While many expect Smith to discuss the infamous Oscars slap, the television show will not provide an in-depth interview about the incident since it was filmed long before the award show was televised, Yahoo! News reported.
The legendary talk show host is returning with season four of his television series with an A-list lineup, including Cardi B, Kevin Durant, Billie Eilish, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ryan Reynolds, and the West Philadelphia native.
According to Netflix’s description of the series, all four episodes were taped before the awards show, and Smith’s appearance was filmed in January.
Smith made headlines after slapping Chris Rock following a G.I. Jane joke he made referencing the actor’s wife, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and her shaved head during the 90th Annual Academy Awards back in March.
Since then, the 53-year-old resigned from the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences with a resignation letter to the committee, Sis2Sis reported.
“The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” the statement said. “I betrayed the trust of the Academy. I deprived other nominees and winners of their opportunity to celebrate and be celebrated for their extraordinary work. I am heartbroken.”
While the Academy accepted his resignation, Smith was banned from attending the ceremony for the next ten years, making him eligible to participate in the award show in 2032 at age 63.
On Friday, Apple announced that Smith’s following project, Emancipation, is slated for 2023 after it was initially expected to drop during the fall festival later this year, per Variety.
The film is co-produced by Smith’s production company Westbrook Studios, directed by Antoine Fuqua (Training Day), and written by Bill Collage, telling the story of a runaway slave who tries to escape his plantation owners. The project would have been the first movie Smith released following the Oscars incident.
Apple did not provide a release date for the film.
