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By Jon Jackson
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Will Smith shared a photo on Instagram Monday of numerous A-list celebrities gathered together for a private screening of his new film Emancipation.
The screening is another indication that Apple Original Films will still be releasing the film per its original schedule, despite Smith's much-publicized altercation with Chris Rock at this year's Academy Awards ceremony.
During March's Oscars presentation, Smith stormed the stage and struck Rock, who was presenting an award, after the comedian made a joke about the actor's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences subsequently banned Smith from all Oscars events for 10 years as punishment.
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"EPIC night!! Thanx for coming to see #Emancipation. Hope ya'll enjoyed!!" Smith wrote in his Instagram post about the screening.
An accompanying photo showed him with Rihanna, A$AP Rocky, Black-ish creator Kenya Barris, Tyler Perry and Dave Chappelle.
According to recent press materials, Emancipation will arrive in theaters on December 2 before it is available to stream on Apple TV+ on December 9.
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Antoine Fuqua (Training Day, The Equalizer) directed and executive produced the film, which was landed by Apple after a highly-publicized bidding war in 2020. The prestige picture is considered to be a likely contender in several categories at the upcoming Oscars.
Smith plays a runaway slave in the thriller. Even though he cannot attend the Oscars, the actor is still eligible to be nominated for and win awards from the Academy.
Emancipation, which is based on the true story of an escaped slave in the 1860s, was previously screened on October 1 during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 51st Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The event was co-hosted with the NAACP and featured a conversation with Fuqua and Smith.
The inclusion of Chappelle at the recent private screening of Emancipation may be surprising to some observers, considering he is currently co-headlining a stand-up comedy tour with Rock. Chappelle has also recently joked about the Oscar-slapping incident onstage.
Smith has publicly tried to make amends with Rock, including in a video that the King Richard star posted on YouTube in July where he discussed the Oscars altercation.
"I've reached out to Chris, and the message that came back is that he's not ready to talk," Smith said in the video. "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.'"
According to Deadline, Rock addressed Smith's video during a performance in London.
"F*** your hostage video," the comedian reportedly said.
Newsweek reached out to Smith and Apple for comment.
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