Originally appeared on E! Online
Will Smith is making his award season return.
Three years after the "Men in Black" actor slapped Chris Rock onstage at the 2022 Oscars, Smith attended his first major awards show Feb. 2 as a presenter for the 2025 Grammys, hosted by Trevor Noah, at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com Arena.
But before taking to the stage, the "Bad Boys" actor turned heads on the red carpet, donning an all-black suit with silver detailing and his signature sunglasses. And just moments before, his kids Jaden Smith, 26, and Willow Smith, 24—who he shares with estranged wife Jada Pinkett Smith—made their own grand entrance. So grand, in fact, that Jaden Smith paired his classic Louis Vuitton look with a black castle that covered most of his head. (See more stars’ red carpet looks here.)
The 56-year-old was also joined by a star-studded roster of presenters including Taylor Swift, for the first time in 10 years, Olivia Rodrigo and Cardi B. And though Jada—who previously revealed that she and Will have been separated since 2016—did not attend the 67th Grammy Awards, the two have been known to put on a united front. After all, it is their close bond that led Will to getting physical on the Oscars stage in the first place.
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During the 94th Academy Awards, Rock seemed to have crossed the line when he made a shameless dig at Jada Pinkett Smith—who has been open about her struggle with alopecia—and her shaved head.
"G.I. Jane 2,” Rock quipped from the stage, “can't wait to see it, all right?"
As the crowd fell silent, Will Smith immediately marched to the stage and slapped the comedian in the face. And as soon as the "Aladdin" actor—who subsequently appeared onstage minutes later to accept the Best Actor award—returned to his seat, he repeatedly yelled, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f--king mouth.”
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But with time and “a lot of thinking and personal work,” Will Smith took to social media four months later to express his regret.
"It's all fuzzy," he said in a July 2022 Instagram post. "I've reached out to Chris and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk and when he is, he will reach out. So I will say to you, Chris, I apologize to you. My behavior was unacceptable. And I'm here whenever you're ready to talk."
Now, the dust has seemingly settled as the rapper has officially made his return for the biggest night in music. To see what other stars are making a splash at this year’s Grammys, keep reading…