In his first awards speech since the 2022 Oscars incident, Will Smith becomes emotional.

During his speech, Smith shared a personal experience of being spit on by a white co-star during a scene, which had a profound impact on his understanding of slavery-era injustice.

He recounted, “It was the second day of shooting and it was 110 degrees. I was filming a scene with one of the white actors, and we had our lines, but the actor decided to ad-lib. So, we did the scene. I said my line, he said his line, and then he ad-libbed and spat in the middle of my chest. If I had pearls on, I would have definitely clutched them. I wanted to say, ‘Antoineeeeee,’ but I stopped, and I realized that Peter [the white actor] couldn’t have called the director.”

Smith went on to describe the same incident happening again during the second take, but he held in his reaction. He shared, “There was a part of me that was grateful that I got to really understand. And then, in the distance, I hear a voice, and Antoine says, ‘Hey, let’s do a take without the spit.’ And in that moment, I knew that God was real.”

Smith expressed his gratitude to the African American Film Critics Association and Apple for their support in making his film, “Emancipation,” a reality, despite budgetary challenges. He praised Apple’s commitment to prioritizing the story over the cost and said, “They make iPhones. They can do it.”