Will Smith’s 10 year ban from the Oscars will not be reduced despite his stunning Hollywood comeback – but he can ‘earn’ his way back to the ceremony

Superstar Will Smith could “earn” his way back into the Oscars fold after his infamous 10-year ban – but not just because he’s scorched Hollywood with his Bad Boys 4 success. 

Despite Smith’s box office triumph, his journey to redemption won’t mean an early end to his exclusion from the Academy Awards soiree.

It’s a long road until 2032, but if Will Smith can prove genuine remorse for that notorious Chris Rock altercation, the Oscars might just roll out the red carpet for him again. 

An Oscar voter and celebrated sound designer, with a trophy-laden partnership with Smith, has given the lowdown on what it might take for a comeback.

Will Smith’s dazzling career highlights won’t sway the Academy’s high-powered crew when it comes to his consequence for that shocking moment, reports the Mirror US.

In an exclusive chat, three-time Oscar laureate Paul N. J. Ottosson has opened up: he’s ready to forgive Smith on a personal note, yet insists the ban must stand firm. Ottosson keeps faith with the decision of exile but suggests Smith could reclaim his Hollywood gala night stature through continued acclaim, exemplary conduct, and heartfelt contrition.

Speaking on Will Smith’s predicament, Ottosson remarked: “Well, I think as a human being, we should forgive. As long as he accepts what he did was wrong. But as a private institution we have the right to ban something that we do not tolerate. And if we tolerate it, we said this is acceptable. But by giving him a punishment, we don’t accept it.”

“We’re going to punish you for a bit, but you can come back and you can earn your way back and show your way back. That’s what I think we all we can ask for: ‘to give me opportunity, earn my way back. You didn’t let me in again. I made a mistake.”

Ottosson, who has earned respect as a sound supervisor, sound designer and re-recording mixer, worked with Smith on the Men In Black movies. He was a producer once on the Oscars, but admits he battles his emotions on the ban – but ultimately feels that the decision must stay in place.

“I think it’s hard to say yes or no because I think if we look at the body of the work (he has) done exceptional things. But also I think if you look and I was on the street and I walked up and I smacked you in the face, you might want to call the police and there might be some consequences on that.”

“I don’t know if that the ban of 10 years is suitable more or less? I have a hard time to quantify what the punishment is, but he definitely did something he should not have done,” he argued.

“We all have to try to restrain ourselves. We get upset about many things in life and sometimes we act on them when we shouldn’t.”

Ottosson, who bagged Oscars for The Hurt Locker (2008) and Zero Dark Thirty (2012), and was nominated for Spider-Man 2 (2004), reckons Smith has become a more valuable asset to Tinseltown in his later years than during his Fresh Prince Of Bel Air days and his reign as one of the Nineties box office kings.

Speaking at the premiere of controversial doctor Andrew Wakefield’s Protocol 7 film, he said: “He had had a great career ups and downs, and I think I like him better now as has aged and is a more mature actor.”

“In the movie King Richard. I think he did a fantastic job. And it’s such a different character. He was supposed to be the sexy, fun, cool guy, and here he wasn’t. He was this other man who was struggling and pushed himself.”

“So I really liked the arc that I see in him. And I think as an arc, you can see in a lot of people, I think you mature and you look at things very differently when you’re young. When you’re young and brave, you think you know everything and you can do everything. And you’re the hot kid on the planet.”

Expressing how Will has grown as an actor and as a person, he continued: “You’re older, you’re humbler. Sometimes those experiences humble you in your life. Will has been through a few of those as well. You have to be allowed to make mistakes, but also allowed to give a chance to ask for forgiveness and come back. That’s the journey he has been on.”

His comments were made at the premiere of the new film Protocol 7. Ottoson made an appearance at the Protocol 7 premiere alongside Wakefield, who has faced severe criticism from both medical professionals and government authorities, earning him the label of ‘fraudster’ due to his anti-vaccination stance.

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Source: Tampa Bay Times