Oscars night was supposed to be a monumental one for Will Smith. After decades of waiting to win an Academy Award, he was a strong favorite for the Best Actor gong going into this year's annual event.
As a matter of fact, he did eventually manage to land the recognition, although his achievement was ultimately marred by the physical altercation he got into with comedian and co-host for the evening, Chris Rock.
This debacle is already causing the actor's career to seemingly unravel, as he was forced to step down as a member of the Academy, and some of his future projects now being put on hold.
This is not the first time, however, that Will Smith has had an un-cordial relationship with a major awards event. In 2016, he boycotted the Oscars alongside his wife Jada Pinkett-Smith for a lack of diversity in the nominations.
Chris Rock was the host that year as well, and as was the case at the 2022 Oscars, he made fun of Mrs. Smith on stage, in what now appears to be a continuing beef.
Further back, in 1989, Smith had also boycotted the 1989 Grammy Awards ceremony, after the rap category was struck from the televised segment of the show.
Why Did Will Smith Sit Out The 1989 Grammy Awards Event?
Before he became the big movie star that we know him as today, Will Smith was in fact a very successful budding rap hip hop star. Alongside his close friend and Fresh Prince of Bel-Air co-star DJ Jazzy Jeff, he formed one half of the famous musical group called DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince.
Between 1984 and 1994, the duo released five studio albums, including He's the DJ, I'm the Rapper in 1988, which officially made them multi-platinum selling artists for the first time. The lead-off single on that album was Parents Just Don't Understand, which was nominated for a Best Rap Performance at the 1989 Grammys.
When the Recording Academy announced that this particular category would not be televised, Smith and his partner made the decision to abstain from attending, as their way of expressing their protest.
Despite their absence, the duo still emerged victorious, beating Supersonic by J.J. Fad, Wild Wild West by Kool Moe Dee, and Going Back to Cali by LL Cool J.
Will Smith And DJ Jazzy Jeff Felt The Decision By The Academy Was 'A Slap In The Face'
When they made the decision to stay away from the event that year, Will Smith and DJ Jazzy Jeff spoke plainly about their reasons why. They did emphasize, though, that they had no problem with the Academy or the awards as an entity.
"We chose the boycott. We feel that it's a slap in the face," Smith said. "We don't have a problem with the Grammy as an award or the Grammy as an institution. We just had a problem with the 1989 design of the award show."
Still then only 21 years old, Smith went on to explain that their radical choice was demonstrative of the high regard with which they held their music. "We feel that our music was important enough and is important enough to have been on the show," he continued.
On his part, DJ Jazzy Jeff argued that the Academy blanking the rap category was just a 'lack of knowledge.' Smith concurred with this, saying, "They don't know anything about rap music. And our boycott was to open their eyes to [it]."
What Happened In The Aftermath Of Will Smith's Grammys' Boycott?
At the time of their boycott, the rap duo predicted that their actions would trigger a response from the Academy for the events that would follow thereafter.
"Next year, some rapper will be able to perform on the Grammys and the award will be televised because the music is large enough and important enough to be on that show," Will Smith insisted. "This is a milestone in our career, and it's a milestone in the history of rap."
Just as they predicted, the category was officially added to the televised segment of the show from 1990 onwards. At the same time, they were once again nominated for their song I Think I Can Beat Mike Tyson, which was taken from their third LP, And in This Corner.
This time around, though, DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince lost out on the award, which instead went to De La Soul for Me Myself and I. Will Smith would go on to win two more Grammy Awards, once alongside his long-time partner, and the other for his solo performance of Gettin' Jiggy wit It.
