'Emancipation' is Will Smith's first movie since he slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Will Smith had some A-list support during a screening of his upcoming film, Emancipation. On Monday, the 54-year-old actor shared a selfie featuring Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Tyler Perry, Kenya Barris and Dave Chappelle.
“EPIC night!! Thanx for coming to see #Emancipation. Hope ya’ll enjoyed!! @davechappelle @cblacksmith @badgalriri @kenyabarris @officialfawn @tylerperry @asaprocky @westbrook @appletvplus,” Smith captioned the selfie featuring the superstars.
Barris took to the comments to respond. “This night was MAGIC and your movie is truly something that will last forever! ✊🏽👊🏽,” the Blackish creator wrote.
Perry took to his respective Instagram Story to share the same image and celebrate the film. “Still haunted by #Emancipation. It’s truly powerful, moving and captivating. And the conversation afterwards with this group was legendary. Thank you @willsmith for the preview," the media mogul wrote.
Chapelle’s appearance comes after he spent the summer touring with Chris Rock -- who was infamously slapped by Smith at this year's Academy Awards. In September, during a stop in the U.K., both Chappelle and Rock made jokes about Smith’s slap, which he has since apologized for three times.
During Chappelle’s set, he called the slap "a very strange choice" and reportedly said that Smith did an “impression of a perfect man for 30 years.”
Emancipation will be Smith’s first major film since the Oscars incident. In the Apple TV+ film, which was directed by Antoine Fuqua, the Oscar-winning actor plays Peter, a man who escapes from slavery, relying on his wits, unwavering faith and deep love for his family to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest for freedom. The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of "Whipped Peter," which show Peter’s bare back and contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.
Earlier this month, the King Richard star appeared during a screening of the film in Washington, D.C., at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 51st Annual Legislative Conference. Smith took the stage to address why he chose to work on the film.
"Throughout my career I’ve turned down many films that were set in slavery. I never wanted to show us like that, you know, and then this picture came along," he said. "This is not a film about slavery. This is a film about freedom. This is a film about resilience. This is a film about faith. It’s a film about the heart of a man."
Emancipation premieres in theaters on Dec. 2 and globally on Apple TV+ on Dec. 9.
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