On the heels of Will Smith resigning from The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in response to his actions toward Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars, a former co-star of Smith is now being vocal about his unpleasant experience with the King Richard star in the past.
As per The Sun, his Ali co-star Paul Rodriguez has revealed the issues he had with Smith while the two were filming the movie based on a ten year period in Muhammad Ali’s life, saying:
Chris Rock only took one slap at the Oscars … but I took a verbal slap from Will Smith every day. And sometimes I think the emotional injuries are just as deep, if not deeper, than physical ones. That movie was meant to be a huge stepping stone in my career, but for me it ended up being a nightmare because of all the sickening abuse I got from Smith. He was evil to me but nice to everyone else. It was sort of like Jekyll and Hyde.
The 67-year-old comedian claims that the entire ordeal caused his acting career to fall apart and said that he kept a diary to document the overall experience. Rodriguez portrayed Muhammad Ali’s doctor Ferdie Pacheco while Smith filled the boots of the legendary boxer. There have been no other known allegations surrounding Will Smith on the set of the Micheal Mann film, as of the time of publishing.
Rodriguez’s motivation to reveal his encounter with Smith came after he witnessed the actor slap Chris Rock on live television after the comedian made a joke about Jada Pinkett Smith’s alopecia-caused baldness. Smith has since apologized for his behavior, though it remains to be seen where his acting career will go now that he’s resigned from his membership with The Academy.