Being a celebrity is a tricky thing. While it can provide money and amazing opportunities, mega fame can also have some downsides, especially when one experiences a scandal or two. Actors Johnny Depp and Will Smith know this all too well, as they’ve made countless headlines due to their personal lives. Now we can see Smith hugging Depp at a film festival after both dealt with professional blows in Hollywood over the past few years. Yes, there's a video.
Both of these actors have had long and wildly successful careers, although they’ve hit speed bumps due to personal controversies. Depp’s legal battle with Amber Heard is still in the public space, while Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars is still affecting his professional life. Moviegoers have watched as the A-listers have been working on their professional comebacks, and Smith posted an Instagram video of the two embracing at a film festival. Check it out below:
There you have it. While their careers are slowly on the mend, it looks like Will Smith and Johnny Depp were genuinely happy to see each other at the Red Sea Film Festival. And given how many fans they collectively have, this clip is sure to go viral shortly.
Will Smith shared the above video to his whopping 64.6 million Instagram followers. While Smith’s numbers went down as a result of The Slap, that’s still an insane following who will no doubt be interested to see him and Johnny Depp embrace. We’ll just have to see which of them get a full theatrical release in the states first.
It’s been fascinating to see how both Smith and Depp have navigated their scandals, and how it’s affected their respective careers. After the Heard/Depp defamation trial was given a verdict, the Pirates of The Caribbean actor has been keeping busy with some projects, albeit outside of the main Hollywood sphere. Depp’s first post-trial movie premiered at Cannes, while he’s also picked up a directing gig.
As for Will Smith, his first release after The Slap was Emancipation, which struggled to stand out from the actor’s controversy. He’s attached to a number of projects currently, including Bad Boys 4, although what we know about the movie is limited. Still, it looks like both Depp and Smith are slowly inching back toward the place their careers were at before their names because synonymous with a messy divorce and the infamous Oscars Slap.
While Smith has worked on more mainstream projects than Depp since his controversy, he is still dealing with some major repercussions from that viral slap incident. Smith was banned from the Oscars for ten years, and dropped out of the Film Academy.
As mentioned, both Depp and Smith have some upcoming projects coming down the line. In the meantime, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
