Do we like Will Smith?
Our score: 7 out of 10. A clean record on harm and a long list of good work, held back by one violent night in 2022 and a lawsuit that was dismissed but not fully closed.
Willard Smith Jr. is from Philadelphia. He started as a rapper in a duo with DJ Jazzy Jeff, won a Grammy in 1988, then became a TV star on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. From there he turned into the guy who owned the Fourth of July box office, with Bad Boys, Independence Day and Men in Black.
The defining moment of the last few years is the 2022 Oscars. Chris Rock made a joke about Smith's wife's shaved head, and Smith walked on stage and slapped him, then won Best Actor that same night. The Academy reportedly banned him from its events for ten years. He apologised in a statement, in a July video and in a Daily Show sit-down, where he said “I lost it” and “That's not who I want to be.”
The newest stoush is legal. In December 2025 a former tour violinist sued Smith and his company, alleging predatory behaviour, sexual harassment and wrongful termination. Smith's lawyer said the claims were “false, baseless, and reckless” and “categorically denied”. In May 2026 a judge found the allegations did not support a severe and pervasive pattern of harassment and dismissed the suit, but let the violinist amend it within 30 days. I couldn't confirm whether he did.
On the harm test, he's clean in what I found. Nothing from him against LGBTQ+ people, women or migrants turned up. In 2016 he told reporters in Dubai it was painful and embarrassing to hear Trump, and said he was there partly because of rising anti-Muslim sentiment in the US. I found nothing from him on climate or vaccines either way, and no run of work with culture-war studios, though that last check is thinner than I'd like.
The good stuff is real, if a bit dated. He and his wife started a family foundation in 1996 that funded the American Film Institute, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. It was set to close in 2024 after donations fell sharply following the slap. A source close to it told Variety the couple planned to keep giving the same amount privately.
So where does that leave us? The slap was one violent night, not a pattern, and he has apologised for it publicly more than once. The lawsuit was dismissed, though a dismissal with leave to amend isn't the end of the story. He's no saint, but there's no grievance spiral and no dodgy company on the record. We'd cheer him on, with the asterisk firmly attached.