Martin Lawrence Says Will Smith's Oscars Slap Won't Cancel Bad Boys 4
It appears Will Smith's infamous Oscars slap isn't going to affect the rollout out of Bad Boys 4.
The man behind charismatic cop Mike Lowrey is of course Will Smith, who slapped Oscars host Chris Rock clean in the face after the comedian cracked a joke about Jada Pinkett-Smith's hair (or lack thereof).
The moment spawned a boatload of headlines, memes and discussions, as well as overshadowed the moment Smith won an Academy Award for Best Actor.
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However, in the days, weeks and months following the Oscars, many questioned what would happen to the award-winner's projects now that he had a slightly tainted reputation.
Fans of the Bad Boys franchise can breathe a sigh of relief that the infamous slap won't impact the next movie in the saga.
Bad Boys co-lead Martin Lawrence has shot down the notion and said he's looking forward to filming the likely final movie.
"We got one more at least," Lawrence said in an interview with Ebony.
According to The Numbers, the first three films in the Bad Boys franchise have taken home a whopping $840 million at the box office.
The original Bad Boys earned $141 million worldwide and helped turn the two lads from sitcom stars into bonafide action superstars
"It was big," Lawrence said, speaking of the first Bad Boys film to Ebony.
"For us to come together and prove that we can deliver, and we can pull people into the box office - that two Black stars, two sitcom stars, could make money at the box office [was huge]."
Speaking to Deadline, Sony chairman Tom Rothman has also confirmed that the fourth Bad Boys instalment was still going ahead despite the 'unfortunate' incident at the Oscars.
"That movie’s been in development and still is," Rothman said.
If you somehow missed the Oscars slap, Smith hit host Chris Rock after he cracked a joke about Smith's wife Jada Pinkett Smith, suggesting she looked like 'GI Jane'.
This didn't go down well with Smith, who caused a stir by walking up to Rock and landed a slap on his face before shouting: "Keep my wife's name out your f**king mouth."
Moments later, Smith won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his leading role in King Richard,
The 53-year-old actor addressed the incident in his speech, saying: "I want to apologise to the academy. I want to apologise to all my fellow nominees."
He continued: "Art imitates life. I look like the crazy father, just like Richard Williams. But love will make you do crazy things."
A release date has not been set for the fourth Bad Boys film.
Topics: TV and Film, Will Smith, Oscars, Bad Boys
Rachel Lang