Report: Will Smith Considers Reviving Rap Career After Being ‘Blackballed’ From Hollywood Over Oscars Slap

An insider revealed the Academy Award-winning actor is allegedly looking to revive his rap career since he’s struggled to find work after he infamously slapped Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars.

TV’s 55-year-old former Fresh Prince announced he’s launching a new podcast called Class of ’88. The podcast tracks back to the groundbreaking rap artists of the period, including Queen Latifah, Run-DMC, and, of course, his old partner, DJ Jazzy Jeff.

The duo was rap chart-toppers from 1988 until 1994 when Smith’s TV career took off and they shelved their act.

But his movie career peaked and crashed on the same day when he won the Oscar for Best Actor but lost everything else by slapping Rock.

Widely blackballed in Hollywood since then, Smith reportedly wants to get back into music — and the podcast is his first step.

“Heck, in the rap world, slapping a guy across the face for dissing his wife isn’t seen as a crime, it’s a badge of honor,” an insider told the National Enquirer. “No one holds it against him and it makes Will feel that is where he can make his comeback.”

Still, a friend believes Smith may have to toughen up his game. DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince were decidedly a PG-rated act, with Smith once rapping he never writes “verses with curses.”

But after being publicly humiliated by estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith, who revealed in her memoir that the couple have lived apart for 7 years and admitted to cheating, Smith could soon be singing a different tune.

“Will’s changed a lot since the old days,” dished the close pal. “He could go a little harder with his content now that he’s been kicked in the teeth!”

Smith has certainly faced a rough patch since the slap heard ’round the world. Despite having a successful career in TV and film halted for defending Jada, who then aired the couple’s dark secrets to the world in her memoir, Smith remained positive and supportive.

At a recent event for the memoir, Smith confessed that he has “nothing but love” for his “best friend” Jada.

While it’s unclear how Jada feels about her estranged husband diving back into the rap game, Smith is still committed to supporting her endeavors.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Smith told the crowd that he was at the book event to “hold it down” for Jada because she “held it down” for him. Smith did, however, note that the three-decade-long marriage has been “very long and tumultuous,” adding that he and his wife called the relationship “brutiful.”